Healing the dead
by bebeschtroumph
Summary: Sookie is trying to move past what happened, but she finds herself refusing to process the past and just pushing on to the future. Spoilers through Dead and Gone. Mature for language, some lemons.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:Obviously, these aren't my characters, I'm just playing. I'd also like to note that I'm taking a bit of a different approach with this. I had a near death experience recently (nothing as extreme as Sookie, but not very pleasant) so I'm using the story to work out some of my own feelings about coming close to death.

* * *

I sat quietly on Remy's couch, sipping a glass of sweet tea. My eyes were closed and Hunter's mind practically danced in my brain. _Please, please, please…_ This conversation was not going the way I wanted it to.

"Look, Sookie, it wouldn't be permanent. I need to do some work out of town for a few weeks, so Hunter would have to stay with his grandparents if not you. Plus, if he stays with you, you can help him with…" Remy trailed off. He didn't like discussing the specifics of the 'disability' Hunter and I shared.

I knew Hunter needed my help. I wanted to help him. Having him with me for a few weeks would be much preferable to making the long drive to Red Ditch whenever I was up to it. At this point I was pretty much healed. I'd been at home for just over a week now. I wasn't back at work yet, but I'd actually talked to Sam about taking a month off. My money from Rhodes was in the bank, so I had some breathing room. That was exactly what I wanted to do, breathe, maybe go lay on a beach. I sighed. I guess what convinced me was that Hunter really didn't like his grandparents.

"Alright, Remy, he can stay with me." Hunter actually squealed with joy. Relief washed through Remy, and his thoughts showed more of the same. I would have shut him out, but I knew that Hunter wasn't and I didn't want him to have questions I couldn't understand. "If you get his stuff together, he can come with me now."

Remy thanked me profusely before he practically sprinted out to pack a bag for his son. I turned to Hunter. "Are you okay with all this, kiddo?"

"Sure, Aunt Sookie." His thoughts were conflicting. He was happy to come stay with me, but sad that he upset his dad. I sighed.

"Hunter, you know your Daddy loves you, right?" He nodded emphatically. "This gift we both have, it can be hard for other people to understand it. Your dad just wants you to be able to control it before you start school. Trust me, it'll be better that way." Hunter nodded and leaned in to hug my legs tightly.

Forty minutes later, Hunter was buckled into his booster seat in the back of my Malibu and we were on our way back to Bon Temps. He was playing a game on my cell phone when it rang. "Can I pick up?" Hunter was inordinately excited.

"Sure thing, kiddo." I smiled at him.

"Hello, this is Aunt Sookie's phone." I smiled. Remy was raising this kid to be polite. I appreciated that, seeing as he'd be my house guest for the foreseeable future. "Aunt Sookie, he says his name is Eric." I stiffened, and I guess I wasn't being as rigorous keeping my thoughts to my self as I should have been, because Hunter relayed my unspoken thoughts. "She says she can't deal with you right now. Should I have her call you back when we get to her house? I'm staying with her."

I sighed. We really needed to work on his ability to recognize thoughts from words. We'd have that talk when Eric wasn't on the line. I pulled over. "Pass me the phone for a sec kiddo. You can have it back when I'm done." He put the phone into my hand. "Hey Eric."

"Hello lover. What an interesting tiny human you have acquired. I was unaware that your brother has sired any progeny. Perhaps you were as well until recently?"

I managed to smile slightly. "Hadly had a son before she was turned. He's staying with me while his dad is away on business."

There was silence on the other end as Eric considered what he wanted to ask. "You and this child seem to have several things in common." So I guess he'd picked up on the fact that I actually hadn't said anything to Hunter. I so did not need this.

"His name is Hunter. We'll be home in about an hour if you want to meet him. I'd prefer it if you kept any similarities you think the two of us share to yourself. He's five." I'd told Remy this was exactly why Hunter should keep the hell away from Sookie Stackhouse. He didn't think it was 'that big of a deal'.

"I'm almost five!" Hunter yelled from the back seat.

I could practically feel his smirk. "Of course, lover. I will see you shortly."

I passed the phone back to Hunter after putting it back to his game and pulled back onto the road. "Hunter, you need to pay more attention to what someone says and what someone thinks. Even if I said to you that I couldn't 'deal with Eric right now', it's not a nice thing to say to someone. It's even more important not to repeat things that people think. People think things that they wouldn't say. Eventually, we'll get you to the point that you can keep a lot out, but for now, let's practice telling the difference between thoughts and words, okay?"

For the rest of the drive, we played a game I made up, allowing Hunter to practice listening to my words and my thoughts. He was getting pretty decent at telling the two apart by the time we pulled into the driveway. I pulled round back and was totally not surprised to see Eric's corvette parked and the Viking himself lounging on the porch. I got out of the car, giving him a wave, then helped Hunter out of the car and grabbed his bags from the back. We walked up to the back porch, Hunter clinging to my leg.

I figured I may as well bite the bullet. "Hunter, this is my friend, Eric. Eric, this is Hunter."

Hunter peaked around my thigh with wide eyes. _Aunt Sookie, I can't _hear_ him._

_I know, kiddo. That's why I hang out with him. He's a vampire._

Eric was watching our silent exchange with a smirk. "Say hello, please, Hunter," I prompted.

"Hello Mr. Eric."

"Hello tiny human." I sighed. This was interesting.

"Hunter, let's get inside and get you unpacked and we'll see about getting dinner ready. Eric, please come in, make yourself at home. I'll get you a True Blood in a minute." I led the two inside, leaving Eric on the couch and Hunter to the room across the hall from mine.

"Here's where you'll be staying, kiddo. I'm right across the hall. Let's get some of your things unpacked and we'll get something to eat." He kept looking back towards the living room. "Do you want to go sit with Eric while I put your stuff away?" He bounced up and was out the door without a backward glance. Great. I knew exactly why he wanted to sit with Eric. The peace I first felt when I sat down with Bill was almost intoxicating. As a child you're almost never alone, and as a telepathic child that means you never feel peace. People's thoughts are always there. Being around a vampire is like rain on parched ground. I'd deal with it once Hunter's clothing was away.

Ten minutes later, Hunter and Eric were sitting at the kitchen table, Eric with True Blood in hand, Hunter with apple juice. I was fixing dinner for Hunter and myself. It felt almost… normal.

Eric broke the comfortable quiet. "Where is your witch, Sookie?"

Another thing I didn't want to think about. "She's in New Orleans." I didn't elaborate. She'd left the day before, one of the major reasons I'd gone to Red Ditch in the first place. She was trying not to blame me for Trey's death, and she hadn't really, but she was hurting and she needed to be alone. I got it. I didn't even really want to be around me.

"Aunt Sookie doesn't want to talk about it."

"Hunter, what did we talk about?" I didn't really mean to snap at him, but I couldn't help it. My shields were a mess, I was still recovering from being tortured nearly to death, and people were dying around me all the time. What was I thinking, bringing a kid into all this? "Sorry, kiddo, I didn't mean to snap. We've both done a lot today."

I finished making him a sandwich, cut up some fruit and topped his apple juice before I settled down with an apple and a glass of wine. Sue me, I'd had a long week. I also couldn't be bothered to actually make myself dinner. I'd get around to it eventually. "So, Eric," I said, taking a long sip of my crisp white wine, "I was a bit surprised to hear from you." Since you haven't spoken to me since I was in the hospital. I made sure my shields were firmly in place before I said that last part in my head.

I'm sure he could feel how irritated I was through the bond, but I kept my face still "I've been checking in with the witch every day. I couldn't get an answer on the house phone today, so I called your cell phone."

"It's not nice to call someone a witch." Hunter frowned at Eric. Eric laughed, that full laugh he only used when he really meant it. I smiled into my wine.

"He doesn't mean it like that, kiddo. Amelia, she was living here until recently, she really is a witch. She does magic." Hunter looked slightly frightened. "Don't worry, she's a good witch. She even left special magic here to protect us." He went back to eating his food.

"Amelia didn't tell me you were checking up on me." I felt a flash of irritation from him. "We can talk later, Eric." I reached across the table and took his hand, relaxing into the comfort of the bond. I was almost glad for the distraction of Hunter being there. Eric and I had a lot to talk about, between whatever we were to each other, the fact that we were apparently married and… everything with the fairies. I certainly didn't want to talk about that last one. The only way I was holding things together was by not talking about that. "So, kiddo, what do you want to do tonight? You've still got about an hour before bedtime. Want to bring your drink to the living room and watch some TV before bed?"

He stuffed the last bite of sandwich in his mouth and dashed into the living room. I went to pick up his plate and glass, but Eric pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I stiffened, then relaxed into him. A few tears slipped out of my clenched eyes. "Sookie, I'm sorry. I assumed that she let you know I was calling. She told me you were not accepting visitors, or phone calls."

"Well, I wasn't, but I probably would have talked to you. She has her own grief to deal with. Let's not worry about it. Let's see what hellish children's programming we're being subjected to, okay?" I pulled myself away from him, but didn't relinquish his hand, and led him into the living room.

Hunter was lying on his stomach in front of the TV, singing along with some guy with a crazy mustache and way too much spandex about not being lazy, or something. "Kiddo, not so close, you'll wreck your eyes." I grabbed both his legs and gently pulled him back a few feet, before I gave him his juice and fruit, then settled down on the couch with Eric and a freshly filled wine glass. He wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled into his chest. I hadn't felt this safe since before… well, in over a week. It felt good.

Hunter was singing along with some of the songs, so I had to assume he'd seen it before. It was weird, but I actually liked one bit about being a pirate. I obviously need to get out more. Hunter turned around at one point and looked at us curiously. I could tell he was having trouble reading us without hearing our thoughts. I smiled. "What is it, Hunter?"

"Is Mr. Eric your boyfriend?"

I glanced at Eric. How do you describe us to a kid who wasn't even five? Well, we had a fling when he was cursed and lost his memory and when the curse was lifted he forgot all about that, then he entered into a blood bond with me so I didn't have to bond with an even creepier vamp, then he got his memories back when out of state vamps nearly killed us all, then he sneak married me in a vampire ceremony, then I while I was kidnapped and tortured he didn't come rescue me and still hasn't told me why, so I really have no idea what we are. "You can just call him Eric, kiddo. And yes, he's my boyfriend." Simple is best with kids, right?

Eric beamed. I sighed, but he pulled me even closer and kissed my hair. I snuggled into his side after Hunter turned back to the TV, bobbing along as another song started. Eric stroked my arm soothingly and kissed my hair again. It was easy to relax into this domestic scene, something so normal and typical, something I'd never expected to enjoy with Eric.

Soon enough, the show was ending, and I could tell Hunter was fighting sleep. I walked over to him and lifted him into my arms. He snuggled into my neck and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I got him into his pj's then into the bathroom before tucking him in. I kissed him on the forehead and said goodnight, getting up to turn out the light and head back to the living room.

"Aunt Sookie?"

I paused with my hand on the light switch. "Yeah, kiddo?"

"Is Eric going to be here tomorrow?"

"Not during the day. He might be around at night, I haven't asked him yet. He might have work to do."

"Where does he work?"

"In Sherveport."

"Can we go there?"

"No kiddo, Sorry, but it's a bar. You have to be twenty one to get in. I'll let him know you say goodnight, okay?" I certainly wasn't bringing an 'almost five'-year-old telepath with no shields around fangbangers. No way.

"Okay, goodnight Aunt Sookie."

I turned off the light and closed the door. I paused there for a second, leaning my head against the door, listening to his mental signature until I felt it shift to the familiar patterns of a sleeping human.

Eric was still on the couch when I came back, but he'd thankfully switched the station to something different. I plopped down next to him and he put his arm back around my shoulder. "That program was insipid. It was telling children to go out and play, but presumably they want them to watch the show. It doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, well, he appeared to like it."

"Sookie, I have to say this. What were you thinking? Things haven't settled since the Fae War, Niall hasn't sealed all the portals yet, we don't know where Dermott is. It's not the best time for this."

I leaned forward and put my head in my hands. "Eric, I know. I told his dad no, and I told him as much as I could about why it was a terrible idea to have Hunter stay with me. He kept asking, and Hunter really didn't want to stay with his grandparents. They're terrible to him. They're scared of him, and they hate him for that." A few tears slipped through my eyes. I knew exactly what Hunter was going through. I'd had the same issues myself for decades. "It's hard having this… disability growing up, especially having no control over it and having people hate you for it. You're not going to tell any other vampires about him are you? I'm hoping to help him learn a bit, enjoy his company and send him back to his dad ready to start school and just be… normal."

Eric sighed, even though he didn't actually need to breathe. He stroked my back slowly. "I don't know if anyone related to you can be 'normal', Sookie. Besides, normal is so boring."

I laughed. "Normal sounds pretty nice right about now. I wish I'd been better at keeping people out when I was in school. It was hard to learn, trying to keep everything straight, the teacher's words, the teacher's thoughts, and the thoughts of about twenty five bored kids. My grades were okay, but college just wasn't an option. I don't want him to be as limited as I've been. I mean, I like my job, but I probably would have liked going to college, getting paid better. I'm blonde and I've got big boobs, but I'm not stupid. It's not Hunter's fault he's got this to deal with. If I can help with this, I want to. He's a sweet kid. He deserves a chance."

Eric didn't say anything for a long minute, he just kept stroking my back. "I didn't know you felt this way, Sookie. I know that you've said you're used to being treated poorly and that you don't think highly of yourself, but I didn't know it went that far back."

I shrugged. "It really isn't that big a deal, Eric. I'm over it. I just don't want Hunter to suffer the way I did if I can prevent it. It sucks to grow up without any friends." I looked at Eric and was surprised at the emotions I was feeling through the bond. He was angry, upset, but there was something odd there. If he was human, I would have called it compassion or empathy, but he isn't, so I didn't know. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you."

"I am glad to see you as well, lover. You seem to be nearly healed." He traced a faint scar on my arm.

"Thanks to you."

"I would like to give you more of my blood. It has been enough time since I last gave you some. It will be safe. You will not need more than a few mouthfuls to heal completely."

I sighed. Normally I would have fought him on this, but I just didn't have the energy. The idea of not having to carry the scars of my ordeal with the fairies was also immensely appealing. I also had Hunter to worry about. I needed to be at my best to protect him. I nodded. Eric looked downright shocked, but quickly bit into his wrist and put it to my mouth, not giving me a chance to argue. I grimaced slightly, took a few quick sips and let him pull his arm away.

"Thanks, Eric. I really do appreciate you taking care of me." I felt the familiar rush as his blood permeated my system.

"I'm just glad you let me, Sookie. Thank you for letting me meet Hunter."

"For the sake of being honest, I hadn't really planned for you to meet him. I was hoping he'd be back with his dad before vamps were back in my life. I mean, I probably would have told you about him, though I would have kept the whole telepathy thing from you, if he hadn't spilled the beans. That was why I was thinking that I didn't want to deal with you, by the way. It's not my secret, and I don't want him getting drawn into all your crazy vampire shit, or for that matter, my crazy fairy shit, if I can help it. Niall doesn't even know about him."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "That, my lover, is certainly for the best. There are only a couple of entry points to the Fae realm open still, while those who wish to go back there settle their affairs. In a month or two, at the most, they will be gone for good."

"So, from what you said before I guess Dermott hasn't turned up yet?" Eric shook his head. "Great, just what I need. Psychotic fairy out to get me."

Eric laughed, but there wasn't much humor in it. "So when do you go back to work for the shifter?"

"I don't." That startled Eric. "Not for a while at least. I need some time. I'm taking a month off, but I really don't know if I want to go back. I've got Hunter for two or three weeks, so that'll keep me busy for the time being. I'm hoping to get him to a point where he doesn't have to hear everyone's thoughts all the time. It's hard on a kid. He needs some kind of shielding ability before he starts school. He's still at the point where it's hard for him to tell the difference between what people are saying and what they are thinking. It also give me some incentive to actually maintain my shields. Ever since… well, I've had trouble with them. Trey's funeral was really hard. Amelia was clinging to me the whole time, and she's a really loud broadcaster even when she's not touching me, so having her practically on top of me was pretty tough. I was glad she let me be there for her though."

"Why did she leave you then, if you had the courtesy to be there for her?" Eric was pissed. I could feel it through the bond, even though his voice remained even.

"She's having a pretty rough time, Eric. He boyfriend was murdered by fairies, and I was tortured. He died because of my crazy relatives. She doesn't blame me, but every time I would hobble out of my room, it would remind her of him. She might come back eventually, or she might stay down in New Orleans. She tried to stay, for me, but the funeral was a bit too much for her. She's never had anyone die, really. Her mom died a while ago, but losing Trey really hit her hard. Anyway, I'm fine." He could probably tell through the bond that I was lying. Her leaving had been another factor convincing me to take Hunter. I didn't want to be alone. "So, do you have any ideas on how to keep Hunter out of the crap that seems to so frequently run straight into me?"

"I'll increase security." He smiled slightly.

"Security? Eric, what are you talking about? Who do you have watching me?"

"A couple of Weres. Pam has been around at night, or Thalia. Did you think I would leave you unguarded?"

Pre-torture Sookie would have been pissed. Now I was just relieved. "I'm glad you didn't. Thank you Eric. How is Bill healing?" I knew where this conversation had to end up, I figured I might as well give it a kick in the right direction.

"He's healing. He will be sick for several more months, but Dr. Ludwig thinks he will make a complete recovery."

I smiled. "Oh, I'm so glad. Do you think I could see him at some point?"

"Probably not for another few weeks. He is only waking to feed at this point. When he is well enough for visitors, I will let you know." Eric was trying to be courteous for my sake. He would prefer me as far from Bill as possible.

Crap, was I reading the bond or his mind? The first few times I'd gotten flashes of vampire minds it had been glaringly obvious, especially Eric's mind. It was getting harder and harder to tell. I pushed the conversation onwards. "I really appreciate that, Eric. I need to thank him, and see how he's doing. Was there a lot of fall out from Clancy's death?"

"The king is not best pleased, but since you were under his protection when Clancy was killed, it is his responsibility to pay Clancy's maker. Negotiations are still under way. I wouldn't be surprised to have a request from the king to use your services after a decision is reached by the arbitrator. He will want something for his investment."

"If I have to go somewhere, will you come with me? I don't want to go without you."

"Of course."

"Eric, I hate to ask you this, but, do you think you could tell me what happened when I was kidnapped? Where were you?" I tried to be as gentle as I could. I knew he had to have a good reason for not being there, and he had sent Bill. I still needed to know.

Eric flinched. "I will tell you, but I need you to promise you won't run, or rescind my invitation, or, I don't know, something else you typically do when you don't want to have a discussion. Stake me or something."

I actually smiled. "I can't promise I won't be angry with you, but I'll hear you out, and as long as you weren't sleeping with your maker at the time, I won't rescind your invitation, and I'll try to get through a discussion. Is that good enough? I have my limitations."

"It will have to do, my lover."


	2. Chapter 2

Eric took a completely unnecessary breath. "First, I am going to give you one sentence that gives you the gist of why I wasn't there. Then I will explain. You have to let me get to the explanation."

"Fine, Eric. Let's just get through this, alright? It's late and I have a little kid to deal with tomorrow. If I start screaming, you have my permission to shut me up. I don't want to wake Hunter."

Eric rolled his eyes at me. "Of course. Well, to be brief, Niall refused to allow me to accompany him."

I think I saw red. _Niall_ wouldn't let _Eric _come? There was a hand clamped over my mouth. I sucked air in through my nose, the red mist slowly retreating. This was unexpected. I'd been expecting 'My maker called me' or 'The king betrayed me' or 'I had a hang nail', but _Niall_? I pushed away Eric's hand and took a deep breath. "Why didn't you just kill him?"

"You'd been taken through Faerie, dear one. I couldn't go there without him. His reasoning was sound, if that makes it any better."

"His reasoning was 'sound'? Eric, I was being tortured to within a hairs breath of my sanity. I begged for you. I pleaded with God, Jesus, Odin, Buddha whoever that if you would just come nothing else mattered, and 'his reasoning was sound'?" I felt the red mist descending again, and Eric's arms wrapped around me. "What aren't you telling me?" My words came through clenched teeth.

"I'm afraid you're not going to like this part."

He told me my great grandfather refused to let him rescue me and he thought I wouldn't like what came _next_? My jaw wouldn't unclench, but I was able to get some words out. "I'll manage."

Eric sighed. All about the unnecessary breathing tonight. "Well, when you called and asked for the King's protection, I was forced to explain the issue. When he found out you were embroiled in a war between fairies, he wanted nothing to do with it. He had offered you protection, so he could not refuse you without losing face. He had me send Bubba, since it was a loss he could handle, should Bubba be rendered finally dead. He wasn't told that you were kidnapped until you were rescued, so he couldn't explicitly forbid any vampire from aiding your rescue effort, and once you were rescued, Niall himself was forced to petition the king so that I would be _allowed_," I could feel Eric seething at that one, "to come to you. He tried to keep me from my pledged and bonded, and he complained about insolence! I would have staked him where he stood had he not been in Nevada." Anger rolled back and forth across the bond. Some was mine, some was Eric's, but at the moment we felt like one person, and all of it rage.

"Why wouldn't Niall take you through Faerie?" I thought about his words. '_The vampire loves you_'. Could he have meant Bill the whole time? He hadn't even known Bill before they rescued me together.

"He knows how strongly tied together we are. He knew you would be tortured, and how strongly it would affect me. He told me I would be of no use, that I would just get myself killed when I was incapacitated by your pain and that my death would lead to your death. He knew you would be hanging on by a string. You would not survive the severing of the bond. As much as I hate him for it, he was right. I was hanging from a string, just feeling a fraction of what you were. Of course, the fact that you were begging for me through the bond didn't help." Eric smiled sadly, and I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his cool chest. "Pam had to subdue me. She found it difficult. She had to resort to silver. I wanted to rip Bill limb from limb. He swore that his superior sense of smell and his residual ability to track your blood would allow him to find you in the human realm quickly, but he took far too long. Even with the torment I was enduring, I am sure I could have found you faster. I am sure of it. I should leave him for the sun." Eric was seething, and I stroked his chest, trying to calm him. "Once they had you on the way to Dr. Ludwig, Niall called me and told me where some of Breanden's followers were, so I tracked them and drained them before the dawn. As soon as I rose, I went to you."

My head throbbed. So far, I didn't want to kill Eric, and I considered this a good thing. To my horror, I started weeping. These weren't the tears I'd been periodically shedding all week, a few drops through clenched eyes. These were heart rending sobs ripped from my very chest. I didn't know what to do. I'd kept myself together by pushing all this away, and suddenly, here it all was. I was reliving every cut, every bite, while wrapped in Eric's arms. He tried to comfort me, to keep me quiet, but the sobs were ripped from me.

I don't know how long it took, but eventually I was cried out. Sobs still shook me, but my tears no longer fell. I managed a few words. "Eric… I miss Claudine."

"I know, dear one. She loved you very much. She was happy to die for you."

"She was pregnant. She should have just let me die and saved her child."

Eric was silent for a moment, simply stroking my back. "I am sorry for the child, but she made her choice. She was not required to fight Breanden. You cannot blame her for making a choice. It was her right."

My sobs turned to hiccoughs. "I've wrecked another shirt, Eric."

"It is a scrap of cloth Sookie. It means nothing."

A small voice came from the hallway. "Aunt Sookie?" Crap. I snapped my shields into place.

"You alright, Hunter?" I pulled myself away from Eric, and Hunter threw his body into mine, wrapping his arms around me as tightly as he could. I extended my thoughts into his and sighed with relief. He hadn't been forced to relive my torture with me, but the raw pain I'd been radiating had woken him. I picked him up and hugged him tightly to my chest. "It's okay, kiddo, I'm fine. I'm fine." I projected comfort and safety and love to the little boy wrapped in my arms. I felt his tears against my neck and my heart nearly broke. "Hunter, look at me." He pulled his face out of my neck and looked into my eyes. I knew I looked like hell, and his thoughts reflected that. "Hunter, something very bad happed to me recently. Do you remember me telling your daddy?" He nodded. "Well, I am still sorting out everything I feel about what happened to me. It's going to take some time, and I am going to be sad, and angry and scared and you won't always know why. You need to trust that I'm going to take care of you and that I will get better, okay?" He nodded and I wiped the tears from his face. "Let's get you back to bed, kiddo. It's getting late. Eric, can you give me a few minutes?"

"Of course, dear one. I will be here."

It took Hunter about forty minutes to get settled and back to sleep, but Eric was waiting for me, idly flipping through channels and drinking a second True Blood. I flopped down next to him and exhaled loudly. "Well, that was interesting. I'm going to need to keep a pretty tight rein on my emotions while I have my little house guest."

"Is that really a good idea, Sookie? The ordeal you went through, it's not something you can just compartmentalize. You are going to need to deal with it at some point." Eric was back to stroking me gently.

I sighed. He was being so normal, so human. It was creeping me out. "I know. For now, it's nice to have a reason not to fall apart. It's also really nice to be able to spend time with someone with my ability. I've only ever met one other telepath, and Barry and I didn't leave Rhodes on good terms. Even though Hunter's only a kid, he gets me. We've got so many of the same issues being around people it's nice to have someone to share that with. If I can help him, I want to. It's hard to maintain my shields. I don't know how well he'll be able to do it. I wish Amelia was still around. It would give us someone good to practice on. The girl can broadcast! Oh, he said something funny before. He asked if we can visit you at work. I thought that was hysterical."

Eric looked mildly amused. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him no way! I wouldn't bring a child to a bar at night, let alone a vampire bar. I certainly wouldn't bring a telepathic child with no control over his ability into Fangtasia, where all people think about is sex and getting bitten or that they hate me. So, yeah, no visiting you at work." I laughed.

Eric didn't seem pleased. "Who hates you?"

"Well, the fangbangers are not my biggest fans. Especially not when you look at me. Some of their thoughts are downright rude." I stroked his arm slowly and his face softened. "You shouldn't concern yourself. I am used to it."

"This is the second time tonight this has come up, my lover. I think it bothers you more than you like to admit."

"Oh, it bothers me. I'm just used to being bothered by it, if that makes any sense. Anyway. Enough on that topic. I think it'll be fun having the kiddo around for a while. It'll be interesting to see how much I can help him. Keeping my shields in place requires concentration. I don't know if a kid his age is up to it."

Eric smiled slightly. "He is your relative. I am sure his innate stubbornness will carry him through. Why do you call him kiddo, by the way?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Just a term of endearment, I guess. I don't really know him that well, but calling him Hunter all the time seems so formal. I guess it's a nickname."

He looked puzzled. "A nickname?"

"Yeah. Some people call me Sook, Pam is short for Pamela. I don't really have a way to shorten Hunter that I like, so kiddo works. And yes, I am aware that it's not really shorter than his name. It works, he seems to like it." Eric shrugged. "Are you okay being around him? It must be awhile since you've last had to deal with having a kid underfoot."

"This is correct. The last time I was around children was while I was mortal. Of course, Aude dealt with the child rearing. My oldest child was just getting interesting when I was turned, so I did not know them well. The boy seems tolerable enough."

I laughed. Tolerable. "Well, he likes you, so try not to drain him or something."

"He likes me? He does not know anything about me."

"Eric, you're the first vampire he's met. That's really refreshing to a telepath. Think about it. Imagine you went through your whole life with people yelling in your ears, saying one thing, yelling in their mind something else, then you meet someone who can actually be quiet. It's wonderful." I sighed, closed my eyes and snuggled into my Viking.

"You told the child I am your boyfriend." I could feel Eric smiling into my hair. His pleasure rolled into me through the bond.

"Well, I figured it was easier for him to understand than bonded sort of husband." I shrugged. "I already told you I wasn't seeing anyone else. I figured boyfriend would do." I let out a huge sigh and pushed myself out of his arms. "So, since we're on the topic, I need to know a bit more about what we are."

Eric looked thoughtful. "We are pledged, Sookie. We also share an especially strong blood bond." He didn't seem quite ready to expand upon that.

"You do understand that I have no idea what that means, right? I mean, I know what the bond feels like, and it irritates the hell out of me sometimes, especially that I can't seem to stay mad at you, and you make me so calm, and I don't know if I'm feeling things or if the bond is pushing it on me or what. Being pledged might mean something to you, but it's just a word to me."

"I wish I could force you do something, Sookie. I would have forced you to come and stay in Shreveport with me, to stop working while things were settled. Most people can be controlled by a blood bond. I assume you can't in the same way you can't be glamoured. I can't make you feel something. Whatever you feel for me, the bond can bring it to the forefront of your mind, but it can't conjure things up out of nowhere. Being pledged, well, it is something complicated, but it is similar to a human marriage, I suppose. If someone in the vampire community needs you they need to ask me for permission, and I have the right to deny them. It is a more formal declaration than simply stating you are mine."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "You know I hate all this 'you are mine' crap, right?" I opened my eyes to see that characteristic Eric smirk. Stupid vampire possessiveness. He pulled me back into his arms and I felt myself relax. Stupid vampire. "Look, Eric, I'm getting pretty tired. I've had along day and Hunter gets up pretty early. We're going to be doing telepathy stuff all day tomorrow and I'm going to need to keep him out of my head. I need to get to bed."

Eric nodded and brushed his fingers along my jaw line. I led him to the back door, and we both lingered, not wanting to say good night. I stood up on my toes and wrapped my arms around Eric's neck to pull him down for a kiss. God, could he kiss. I swear, my toes were curling. I moaned slightly and pulled away. "Eric, you need to go. If you kiss me like that again I am going to drag you to my bedroom."

He grinned at me. "Why would this be a problem, lover?"

I sighed and rested my forehead on his cool chest. "We're not quiet at the best of times. I'm feeling pretty frazzled and my shields, as I mentioned, aren't really up to snuff. I don't want to lose them during the midst of an orgasm and start broadcasting that to little sleeping minds, okay?"

He laughed, softly, but it reached his eyes. I smiled. "Very true lover. Perhaps you could get someone to babysit and I could take you out this week some time. I'm sure Pam…"

"Eric!" I playfully smacked his arm. "Don't you even suggest such a thing. She would drain him. And me. She would try to stake you."

He laughed again. "I may suggest it to her, just to see her reaction. It should be worth it."

"Well, it's your existence. Have fun. Could you ask whoever it is you have watching the house to come to the door tomorrow? I hate the idea of them just prowling around outside. At least I can make them lunch or something."

"Of course. Let them know if you plan on taking the child anywhere so they can accompany you." I nodded. "I must say, it is refreshing to see you actually taking steps to ensure your own safety without argument."

"It's more for Hunter than for me, you know that. Will I see you tomorrow?"

He shrugged slightly. "I may need to deal with business at Fangtasia for a while. Pam will come by at sunset. If I can't come, I will call you."

I smiled. "Well, if you call, keep it pretty early. Hunter gets up around eight in the morning, so I'd like to be in bed around midnight. Say hello to Pam for me."

He nodded and kissed me gently. "Sleep well, lover. I will speak to you tomorrow." Just like that he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

I drifted to awareness sometime around dawn, when Hunter crawled into bed with me, but only enough to give him a bit of room and a hug. He let me sleep until nearly nine.

_Aunt Sookie, are you awake?_

"I am now, kiddo. What do you want for breakfast?" I stretched and yawned. Coffee was certainly needed.

"Can we make pancakes?" I smiled, yawned and rubbed my eyes.

"Sure thing. You go do your thing in the bathroom. I need to wake up for a second. I'll meet you in the kitchen in a couple minutes, okay?"

He nodded happily and leapt out of bed. Where did children get all their energy? I yawned again and pulled myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and took care of my 'human needs' as the vamps so delicately put it and walked into the kitchen, to find Hunter half way into a cabinet pulling out every pot and pan I owned.

"Woah there, kiddo! We don't need that many!" I picked him up and plunked him down at the kitchen table, quickly pouring him a glass of milk. "Drink this, and I'll get out the things we need." Putting all the pots away, setting up the coffee and getting out the things for pancakes took about ten minutes, and I kept him occupied with the game I'd made up yesterday. It was basically Simon Says, except saying things out loud was the equivalent of saying 'Simon Says…'. It was simple enough and I figured it was something Remy could do with him to practice if he ever got over his fear of what his son could do.

We got the pancakes made, though it took me a few minutes to convince Hunter to stir the batter slowly to incorporate the flour, rather than basically covering himself in it. I was glad he was still in his pajamas. We got ourselves fed and cleaned up, and I even managed to plunk him in front of the TV and hop in the shower, with clear instructions to reach out to me by thought if he needed anything.

By the time my hair was pretty much dry, two Weres were standing on my front porch, knocking. "Can I get it, Aunt Sookie?"

"No Hunter. You let me get the door, okay? I need to check who it is first." I reached out to the two Were signatures and rummaged around as best I could. They were harder to read than normal humans, but I could still pick out the threads of thoughts and their emotions. There two worked for a certain blond Viking. They also had been told exactly what would happen to them if any harm came to any resident of this house. Eric had been… explicit. I'd have to talk to him about that. I opened the door, keeping Hunter behind me, just in case.

"Miss Stackhouse?" The taller Were seemed to be in charge. "Eric informed us you wanted to speak with us. May we come in?"

"Of course." My instincts kicked in. "Can I get either of you a drink? I've got sweet tea, and there's still coffee in the pot."

Taller Were extended his hand and I shook it. "I'm Don, and this is Beau. I'd love a cup of coffee, with cream if you got it."

Beau shook my hand as well. "Coffee sounds good. I just take it black with a bit of sugar."

I escorted them into the kitchen, leaving Hunter watching TV in the lounge. They both sat while I fixed their coffee and another cup for myself. I sat across the kitchen table from them.

"So, what has Eric told you about the situation?"

They glanced at each other before Don replied. I was already as far into his head as I could go and was having some trouble distinguishing his thoughts from his words. "We know you had some issues with fairies. _They sure did a number on her, heard about Dawson, can't believe she survived._ We know most of them are back in their world, but there's one at least who's probably still looking for you. _Fairies are such trouble. Big advance. Vamp's paying well enough._ We've got a few guys out watching the woods, and the two of us are watching the house during the day until the vamps come out._ Hennessy's taken down fairies before, and Brian's the best tracker I know. Between the two of them and Ryan, nothing will get close to the house._"

I shook my head slightly, trying to clear my mind. The two natured were hard to read, and it took a real effort on my part to get into their brains. "Do you know about the wards on the house?" He shook his head slightly. "A witch lived here until a few days ago. She had the house warded while she lived here, but she strengthened them before she left. Anyone coming in has to be acknowledged and accepted in by me. We're pretty safe in the house." This was why I'd finally relented and let Hunter come stay. Amelia had made me as safe as she humanly could before she'd left me. I had to give her that much credit. "I got grabbed outside the house last time." He nodded, since he'd been wondering about that. "I'd like to make things as easy as possible for you guys. I want to keep Hunter safe, so anything I can do to keep that possible, just tell me."

The two Weres looked at each other. "Well, if you guys can stay in the house as much as you can, that would be best. Make a shopping list, we'll get stuff picked up for you."

I nodded and pulled the grocery pad off the fridge. My cupboards were pretty bare, and the fridge was getting that way. I also needed some kid-friendly food. "Any chance of him being able to play in the yard?"

"That shouldn't be an issue, so long as you both stay visible and out of the woods." I nodded. I'd already explained to Hunter and Remy that in my house was the safest place to be, and that he'd need to be prepared to spend a lot of time just hanging out in my house.

I took a long sip of my coffee. "We'll stay inside as much as we can. I'll let you know if he needs to run around outside for a bit."

They both nodded and we finished our coffee before they went back out. I had Hunter help me make a grocery list, though I had to veto his cereal choices. We went with Kix and Life, rather than some Coco Choco Fluff crap he wanted. All I needed was a kid hopped up on sugar and not allowed to do much outside.

The day passed pretty quietly. I helped Hunter build a pillow fort and we played that 'don't step on the lava' game that all kids seem to know. I'd done it often enough with Arlene's kids when she and I had still been on good terms, and I'd played it with my own brother when we were young. I made him lunch. His father called and they chatted happily for a bit. At some point the Weres left the groceries on the front porch and Hunter helped me put things away then took a nap. I got started on a pot of chicken soup with dumplings for dinner. About an hour after sunset, there was a knock at the door. I reached out with my mind, feeling the familiar void of a vampire. I looked through the peephole and smiled at the petite, pastel-clad vamp standing on my porch. I shooed Hunter back to the living room and opened the door.

"Hello Pam. Please, come in. Can I get you a True Blood?"

She smiled at me, showing a little fang as she walked in the door. "Thank you Sookie. That would be nice." She followed me to the kitchen. "So, Eric tells me you have a child staying with you. He suggested I might baby sit at some point."

I blanched, nearly dropping the blood I was popping into the microwave. I whirled around. "That really won't be necessary Pam. I certainly wouldn't want to put you out of your way."

"Nonsense, Sookie. I already babysit you. I'm sure a human child wouldn't be any different. Of course, I'd promise not to drain him. Or you." She looked at me darkly. I guess Eric had decided to tease her a bit after all.

I handed her the warm blood. "We'll see how the two of you get on. Would you like to meet him?" She nodded briefly, then followed me as I led her to the living room. I picked Hunter up and balanced him on my hip. He hid his face in my neck for a second before realizing that Pam was like Eric. Then he quickly clambered out of my arms and pulled Pam onto the couch. Pam looked slightly amused as he told her all about his day with 'Aunt Sookie'. Thankfully he kept the long chat we'd had about not telling people about what we could do to heart, and left out that we'd learned I could basically wrap him in my shields and keep him out of other people's heads. I'd figured that out when the Weres had dropped in.

Hunter talked at Pam for about an hour, first giving her all the details of his day, then showing her his favorite toys and videos. I finished getting the dinner ready, i.e. throwing together the dough for the dumplings before tossing them in the boiling soup to cook for fifteen minutes and sipping a glass of wine, and set the table, filling Hunter's bowl. Hunter came pretty quickly after I called him, and Pam drifted in after him.

"Can I get you a drink, Pam? You don't have to sit with us if it makes you uncomfortable."

She gave me an odd look. "Why would it make me uncomfortable? You see me eat frequently."

I shrugged. "It was a pet peeve of Bill's. I figured that you guys are pretty close in age and it might be something that bothers you as well. I've also never sat around and watched you entertain a willing donor. Sipping a bottle of True Blood isn't exactly the same."

"Bill Compton is an…" She glanced at Hunter, who was happily ladling soup into his mouth and pretty much ignoring us. She changed what she was about to say. "Idiot. Don't compare me to him. He still mourns his human life and hates being reminded of such trivial things as eating. I am not offended by you meeting your basic needs. Of course, if you ever feel the need to offer, I'm sure I could show you exactly what I do with willing donors." She leered at me, showing the tips of her fangs. That Pam.

I poured myself a small bowl of broth and sipped at it slowly. I was having a lot of trouble eating these days. It felt like I'd been living on coffee, toast and the odd glass of wine since I'd gotten back from… well, back. I was sure it was a phase, and that my appetite would come back eventually. I could stand to lose a few pounds anyway. This obviously wasn't a healthy way to go about it, but I wasn't exactly in a healthy place. Ignoring everything seemed safest.

I glanced over at Hunter, who was pushing the carrots around in his bowl. "Come on, Hunter, eat your veggies."

He frowned at me. "Why do I have to eat veggies if you don't?"

"I'm going to eat later, kiddo. You tend to have dinner earlier than I do, since you go to bed earlier."

He nodded and put one piece of carrot in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "Is that why you didn't eat with me at breakfast or lunch? Did you eat later?"

Time to lie a little. "Yep. I had a sandwich while I started making dinner." I'd had toast, which is almost like a sandwich. I didn't like the look Pam was giving me, but I decided to ignore her. "Do you want something for dessert, kiddo?"

"Cottage cheese and pears!" He'd told me he loved canned pears and cottage cheese for dessert, so I'd made sure both items were on the list. His dad kept him eating pretty healthy and I'd promised to try to do the same.

"Finish your carrots and I'll make you a bowl." I quickly opened the can of pears and pulled out about half a pear, then put the remaining juice and pears into Tupperware and into the fridge, before putting a dollop of cottage cheese on top of the pear sections. Hunter finished his carrots so I handed him his bowl and a spoon before putting the leftover soup into a container and then into the fridge. I popped our dishes into the dishwasher and made a pot of coffee. By the time I poured a cup for myself and offered Pam another blood, Hunter had finished his dessert, so I popped those dishes into the dishwasher and gave the table a quick wipe. "So, kiddo, how about a bath and then we'll watch a movie with Pam?"

"Okay! Can I bring toys in the bath?"

"Sure, but you can't play too long or we won't finish the movie before bed time."

He nodded solemnly and headed to his room to pick out a couple toys to take in the bath.

I smiled as I watched him walk away. "Can you entertain yourself for about half an hour, Pam? We're going to have to watch something kid friendly. His dad packed him a bunch of DVDs, so we'll probably watch one of those." She nodded. "Do help yourself to another blood if you'd like."

"I have some work I should get done." She whipped out her blackberry and went to sit on the couch, fingers flying over the keys.

Getting Hunter washed took about forty minutes, as he asked for a bit more time to play, but soon enough he was clean and dried and bouncing in my lap on the couch as Finding Nemo started. I'd made us a little bit of popcorn, so we cuddled up together sharing the bowl. Pam sat in a nearby chair, tapping away on her blackberry.

By the time the seagulls kept screaming "Mine!" in a way that made them seem a bit vamp like, his eyes were closing, so I got him up, told him to use the bathroom, helped him brush his teeth and put him to bed. He was out by about 8:30. I strolled back out to the living room and sank into the couch. "Phew! I am beat. It is exhausting chasing after him all day. I've barely had a minute to myself. The only reason I felt okay even jumping in the shower was because I could use my telepathy to keep track of him. Can I get you anything?"

She nodded and I went to heat her up a blood and grab some more coffee. I didn't worry about it keeping me up all night. If I didn't have any, I'd pass out right now. I brought both back to the living room and sank into the couch.

Pam gave me an odd look. "The child is interesting. I do not know that I could spend many hours entertaining one, but if the need arose, I would be fine to watch him while he slept."

I looked thoughtful for a moment. Had she thought I wouldn't trust her to take care of Hunter? "Pam, you know I trust him with you, right? I just can't see it being something you'd like doing or thank me for. I wouldn't want to put you out." She nodded slowly and sipped her blood. I flipped the TV over to something less kid oriented. "Have you been doing alright, with everything?"

"If you mean your abduction and torture by fairies, Bill's poisoning and Clancy's final death, then, yes, things are fine." I winced. Always count on Pam to be blunt. "Of course, Eric was furious when Niall refused to take him to track you. I had to restrain him with silver. You always give me such material to tease him with. That fact alone should come in handy for the next century at least. We are looking for a new bar manager, of course. Felicia is thankful that the curse seems to have passed her over. She still fears you, which is always amusing. Bill was apparently awake for ten minutes yesterday when he wasn't feeding, which is a good sign. He will most likely recover fully. Eric seems happier since he learned that the witch had not informed you that he called. He thought you were ignoring him."

I sighed. "Amelia never could be trusted to pass on messages. He knew that. Does Eric know if he's going to be able to stop by? Have you talked to him tonight?"

"I spoke to him not very long ago. He was still busy at the bar. He has to see a few applicants for Clancy's position."

I nodded. I was tired enough that I didn't really want him to stop by tonight. "I'm sure he'll call at some point. Do you want to watch a movie? I'm in the mood for something a bit eighties." Pam nodded, so I popped in my old VHS of Labyrinth. Pam had to wake me during the ball room scene, but after that I managed to make it to the end.

I finally got up and stretched. "Okay, Pam, I need to crash. Are you okay entertaining yourself? I need to get to bed."

"Of course Sookie. I'll be fine."

"I don't think I've gone to bed this early in years. It's barely after ten! I'll send Eric a text and let him know. Night Pam."

"Sleep well, my telepathic friend."

I gave her a quick hug, scooped up my phone and headed to bed. I got through my night time rituals in record time and found myself snuggled into bed pretty quickly. I looked at my phone, ready to message Eric, to find that I already had a text message from him, from about an hour ago. My phone had been on silent.

_Lover, tied up at the bar. Wish I had you tied up in bed instead. Can I call later? I won't be free until after you've gone to sleep._

I thought that was surprisingly nice, if I ignored the bit about tying me up. I typed out a response. _Hey Eric. I'm heading to bed. Sorry I missed your message, my phone was on silent. Feel free to call, I'll try to wake up if the phone rings. Xoxo._

A few minutes later my phone made its customary text message noise. I glanced at it right before I fell asleep. _If you don't pick up, I'll leave a message. At the very least, I hope to invade your dreams._ I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking thoughts that were decidedly not kid friendly about my Viking.

My phone buzzing in my ear woke me at about 2:30. The caller id said Eric, so I flicked it open. "Hey," I murmured sleepily. "How was work?"

"Everything here is fine, dear one." God, that voice did sinful things to my spine.

"You're still at Fangtasia?" I was trying to wake up, trying to actually have a conversation. "Eric, can you give me a sec? I'm going to go grab a drink. Can I call you back in five?"

I could almost feel him smiling on the other end of the phone. "Of course, lover. Take your time. I'm still at Fangtasia, but I was going to head home soon."

I needed coffee. I yawned and stretched. "Okay. I might sit and chat with Pam for a few minutes. Why don't you call me when you get home?"

"It'll be about twenty minutes, does that give you enough time with Pam?"

"Sure, Eric. Drive safe." That one actually made him laugh, I noticed as I clicked the phone shut. I hauled myself out of bed and went to the kitchen, asking Pam if she wanted anything on my way past. I put a mug of coffee into the microwave, then her blood. Reheated coffee never tasted quite as good, but I did what I had to do, adding my usual cream and an unusual tiny bit of sugar to cover the extra bitterness. I brought both out and sat next to Pam on the couch. I handed her the blood and yawned before taking a sip of my coffee. "How's your night going, Pam?"

"I should have Eric add some of the channels geared towards vampires to your cable package. Late night human television is insipid."

I glanced at the TV. She was watching some Japanese game show dubbed into English. "I'm pretty sure this show is geared towards people who are drunk or stoned, Pam. Don't mess with my TV, Pam. It serves me just fine." I picked up the remote and started flicking through the channels. I found an episode of Futurama and left it there. Better than Takeshi's Castle. "Anyway, I thought you were doing work."

"I am an excellent multi-tasker. Speaking of things that need doing, did you ever have dinner?"

"I ate a lot of popcorn." She looked skeptical, but didn't press the issue. She probably didn't remember appropriate portion sizes for humans anyway. "What have you been up to, other than working and watching insipid human TV?"

"I painted my nails." She flashed them at me, and I admired the pale peach color she'd applied. I smiled. "Did you wake up because Eric called?"

"Yeah, but I needed to wake up a bit, so he's going to give me a call when he gets home." I sighed and drank some more coffee.

"How are you doing Sookie?" I glanced at her. Asking me this seemed to take a lot out of her.

"I'm as well as can be expected. There's a lot going on in my head. For the moment, I've just set all that to one side to take care of Hunter. I'll start sorting myself out when he goes back to his father. I'm keeping it together reasonably well."

Pam hesitated. "My master was very distressed before he saw you last night. I believe the things that the bond tells him are other than the things that your mouth tells me."

I shrugged. "I'm not pleased about what happened, and I'm certainly not over it. I'm sure I'm going to fall apart pretty soon, but for now, I'm keeping it all together. We'll see how I am when Hunter leaves. Can we just drop it for now?"

Pam nodded slightly, we chatted for about ten minutes while I finished my coffee and then I went back to bed. I sent Eric a text to let him know I was free and waited for him to call. I hated brushing off Pam, but I wasn't ready for her blunt, take every thing head on with a healthy dose of sarcasm way of life. I just needed to keep it together.

When my phone rang, I glanced at it and flipped it open. "Hey Eric. Did you have an okay evening?"

"Well, lover it would have been better if I could have spent it on top of you, but on the whole it was tolerable. I believe I've found a new vampire to be our bar manager. We'll have to see if Pam approves, but I'm hopeful. Your evening was alright, I trust?"

"It was fine. Hunter watched most of Finding Nemo before I put him to bed. Pam and I watched Labyrinth. I was in bed around ten. Pretty sedate for me." I yawned. "Excuse me! I am so tired today. Running around after a kid all day is exhausting. I'm going to take advantage of his naptime tomorrow and actually sleep. He runs circles around me."

"Don't forget to be careful, lover. You are still healing. How was David Bowie in spandex? I haven't seen that film since it came out."

"It was amusing, as it always is. A bit of friendly teen angst, a world of may or may not be make believe. It was nice to just zone out." I snuggled down into my blankets.

Eric was silent for a moment. "Pamela told me that the child commented on your lack of appetite."

Evasion was going to be harder here. "I've been eating here and there. I just haven't had much appetite since every thing happened."

"Well, keep aware."

"I will. I will try to eat more." I shook my head in my pillow. This was not the conversation I wanted to be having. "Pam and Hunter got along okay. Thanks for suggesting her as a babysitter, by the way. I thought she was going to kill me. Did you tell her I didn't trust her or something?"

He laughed softly. "I may have implied something like that."

"Eric, that's unkind. You know I trust Pam. I don't know how much time I want Hunter spending with you guys. He's supposed to be practicing and you guys aren't very helpful."

Eric was silent for a minute. "Dear one, I think you forget that Pam can likely hear everything you're saying to me. If you want to keep her uninformed on the traits you share with your cousin's child, I would pick another topic."

Crap. I was too tired for this shit. "Well it's not like either of you are going to sit down and read with him. I wouldn't even ask you to." I stretched and sighed.

"I love the little noises you make when you're sleepy. It makes me want to come over and put you, very thoroughly, to bed."

I laughed, softly. "Not a bad offer, Sheriff."

"Get out your vibrator, Sookie." He was practically purring.

I turned beet red. Tara had gotten me one for my 25th birthday, saying that even 25 year old virgins needed to satisfy their urges. I'd been mortified, but I hadn't thrown the thing out, which was my first intention when I realized what the thing was. It had come in pretty handy, especially during recent dry spells. "Jesus, Eric, what do you do while I'm sleeping, go through my drawers?"

He laughed, that full laugh, from his head right down to his belly. "No, but I should. Thank you for the idea. Pam has told me, on many occasions, that most women have at least one. They're apparently quite common these days."

"Eric, I am not having," I dropped my voice to a whisper. "I am not having phone sex with you while Pam is in the next room. Forget it! You know she'd decide I was in danger or some excuse to come bounding in here."

"Don't use the vibrator then. What are you wearing?"

"Nothing sexy, Eric. Now back off, buddy." I was too tired for this.

"I have noticed your lack of sexy sleep ware. Perhaps that is something I could rectify when I next go through your drawers. I want to hear you touching yourself for me, lover." The man was determined, I had to give him that.

"Eric," I trailed off. I could hear the front door open and close. "Did you tell Pam to go outside?"

"She's just doing a quick circuit around the property. We only have about fifteen minutes. Take your underwear off, Sookie."

"No can do, Eric."

"Anything is possible if you try, dear one."

"It really isn't, Eric. I'm not wearing any."

"That, Sookie, is what you could have mentioned when I asked what you were wearing." I laughed, and so did he. I don't know how long it took Pam to come back inside, but she didn't come busting in and I had no trouble falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Two nights later, Eric decided to make good on my off hand remark about going through my drawers. He didn't find my vibrator. Little red had been safely hidden in an old shoe box in the top of my closet. What he did find was potentially more embarrassing. Stuffed into a jewelry box, wrapped in a scrap of ripped t-shirt, was the bullet Eric had taken for me in Dallas.

He gently shook me awake. "Sookie, wake up." I was pretty incoherent. "Sookie." He was a bit firmer. He also rarely called me Sookie.

I blinked, trying to will myself awake. "I'm up, I'm up." I didn't know if I was trying to convince myself or Eric. Then I saw the ring box he was holding. That woke me up more thoroughly than ten cups of coffee and a bucket of ice water. "Eric, you actually went through my drawers?"

"This has my blood on it Sookie. It's old, almost faded away completely. When is this from?"

I scooted myself closer towards the headboard. I couldn't tell what Eric was feeling. "It's from Dallas."

"You picked it up? You kept it? Why?" He looked bewildered.

"Jeez, I don't really know. I guess to remind me that you actually stayed and protected me and that Bill ran off, but also so I didn't forget how you tricked me into taking your blood. So I never forgot that you were completely trustworthy and completely untrustworthy. I stuck it in there ages ago."

"Your scent on it is much more recent, in many layers."

"Well, it's in my underwear drawer. I brush past the box all the time."

"Of course, lover, the box. I was commenting on the multiple layers of your scent on the bullet."

Shit, I was caught. I tended to pull the damn thing out and touch it whenever I thought Eric was being too much of one or the other. If I needed to remind myself that the man was both very good and very bad and neither of those things, always, I pulled out that bullet. I pulled it out when I wanted to remember the way he treated me, before he was cursed. That was probably why I'd pulled it out over the last year. I missed that Eric. Not my Eric, not post-curse Eric, just the Eric I'd had that easy-going yet tightly wound relationship with. I shrugged. "Once you lost your memories of the time you spent with me, you were pretty awful to me. I guess I needed to remember who you were before those few days, a man who would take a bullet for me one moment, and then try to trick me into taking his blood in the next. I would think about Dallas, and Jackson, and all the playful banter, the things you did to help me, the things you did to try to bed me. At least those times you were never cruel." I shrugged again and stared at my hands. I didn't want to do this crap with Eric, all this emotional, let's bare our souls crap. I just wanted to be simple and have fun together. I didn't want to get hurt. "It doesn't really matter, Eric. Can you just drop it? So, I picked up a bullet. I don't see some huge significance there."

Eric stared at me. The thousand year old vampire was completely and utterly shocked. Of course it was a 'big deal'. I'd thought about him for, at this point, years. Of course he cared. I knew this because I was pulling the thoughts directly from his mind. Crap on top of crap. Suddenly Eric started laughing and wrapped me in his arms. "You will always surprise me, lover. Perhaps that is why I enjoy your company so much. 'Don't see some huge significance', indeed. You are delightful." He lay me back on my bed and kissed me gently, but I could feel the passion behind it.

"Do you wanna…?" I tilted my head slightly as I let the question trail off.

Eric arched an eyebrow at me. "You are no longer concerned about waking the child?"

I shrugged. "Well, we'll still need to be quiet, but I can do this sort of, well, 'earmuffs' kind of thing. It stays in place for a while, it turns out."

"Earmuffs?" Eric looked completely confused.

"You've never seen Old School? With Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson?" He shook his head. "Well, it's about a bunch of friends, they're all in their 30's about, and they decide to start a frat…" Eric's blank stare made me pause to explain. "A fraternity. It's a thing guys in college join. You know, societies with Greek letters. Anyway, Vince Vaughn's character has kids and whenever he wants to curse around the kids, he says 'earmuffs' and they cover their ears with their hands and can't hear him. Wow, that was way more explanation than necessary. I can extend my shielding around him, and basically it sticks for a bit. So if we're quiet in the traditional sense, I won't mentally wake him."

Eric stared at me for another few seconds. "Earmuffs."

"If Hunter got it, you'd think you could get it. He's what, 0.5% of your age? He picked it up more quickly than you have."

Eric shook his head. "Has he seen this film, then?"

"It's not a film for children, Eric. I sincerely hope he's never seen it."

"Well, lover, I make no promises, but I will try very hard," He ground into my hip for a moment, "To stay silent. Can you do the same?" I gulped slightly and nodded. Eric smiled, his slow, lazy, sensual smile and bent to kiss me. I moaned, very softly, in appreciation. He pulled back. "Ah-ah, lover. I thought we agreed to be quiet." I frowned at him, and he kissed me on the mouth again before trailing soft kisses down my neck. If I so much as breathed heavily, he would pause, smile into my neck and whisper "Shhhhh," quietly

He slowly unbuttoned my sleep shirt, running his fingers down the sides of my breasts, brushing my nipples with his palms. I felt like I was going to combust. His fingers traced down my waist, to my hips, and his lips gently caressed first one nipple then the other. I let out a soft, strangled moan, then shuddered at his cool breath on my moist skin as he shushed me.

His lips pressed against mine, and my mouth opened as he traced a finger slowly under the elastic of my panties. I ran my tongue over one of his fangs. Now it was Eric's turn to groan softly. I smiled into his lips before shushing him. He slipped a long finger inside of me, and I bit down on his lip to keep from crying out. I could taste his slightly sweet, thick blood, and an instant later, he was poised at my entrance. God, he loved to be bitten.

I pulled away from his mouth to lock onto his sapphire eyes with mine. I nodded, arching into him as he entered me. Feeling him moving in me, it was like my skin was on fire. I had to keep focusing on my shields, but as I started to get close I couldn't keep my focus. Hopefully, the earmuffs had me covered. When I was just on the cusp, I stretched out my neck and whispered, "Bite me."

Eric sank his fangs into my shoulder slowly, and I felt myself coming apart at the seams. The bond between us was almost like a living thing, humming with joy and passion and happiness. I fell back into the pillows, laughing softly and Eric collapsed next to me. After reaching out with my mind and finding Hunter still sleeping soundly across the hall, I sighed contentedly.

"Wow, Eric that was great. Thank you." I ran my fingers through his hair slowly. "I'm glad you bit me. I was a bit worried about that."

Eric's fingers traced down my side then brushed over my stomach. "Why would that worry you, lover?"

Since I was feeling pretty good, I was able to keep the badness on pretty tight lock down. It was almost similar to using the earmuffs on Hunter. I just locked out the part of my brain that was trying to get me to deal with the horrors I'd witnessed. "Well, I experienced a fair bit of biting in the not so distant past that was the opposite of pleasurable. I thought you biting me might remind me of that." Eric stiffened beside me. "The bond was actually really helpful there. I couldn't really feel anything negative with all that positive flowing in."

"You thought it might remind you of torture, and yet you asked me to bite you?" He seemed angry, though I got the feeling he wasn't actually angry with me.

"Had to know, one way or the other. Either it was going to freak me out or it wasn't. I'm glad it didn't." I sighed and stretched and changed the subject. "I was thinking about taking Hunter to Merlotte's for lunch tomorrow. I need to get him around people and see if he can manage shielding for more than a few minutes at a time."

"Did you speak to the Weres?"

"Not yet. I figured I would talk to you first. I'd also like to stop by the library. He needs some books and I could use a few as well. Am I being an idiot?"

"Possibly. I'll talk to the Were before I go to my rest. Speak to them in the morning."

I nodded. "I spoke to Jason today."

Eric glanced at me, his brow slightly furrowed. "I didn't think you were on good terms with your brother, since the incident with the panther."

"Well, we started speaking again after Crystal was killed, and he came to visit me after… When I got home. He met Niall."

Eric smiled, but not in a way that suggested he was amused. "How did that go?"

I shrugged. "About as well as could be expected. Niall made it pretty clear he never wanted a relationship with Jason, Jason said Dermot was okay and Niall informed us that Dermot helped kill our parents, before he said goodbye and gave each of us some kind of healing, tension erasing kiss and left."

I could feel odd things coming through the bond. It wasn't any particular emotion I could name, but I'd never felt anything like that from Eric before. "The fairy healed you?"

"Yeah a bit. It seemed to knock about a week off my healing time anyway. It helped my mental state pretty significantly too. Trey's funeral was the next day, and I can't imagine what it would have been like if he hadn't done whatever he did. Anyway, Jason's going to come by for dinner tomorrow. He hasn't met Hunter yet, but I told him about him."

Eric was irritated. "You told your brother about his telepathy, and you don't trust _my child_ with the information?"

"God, Eric, no! I just told him that Hadley had a kid and that he was staying with me while his dad was away on business. He was pissed I hadn't told him about Hunter before, but when I told him I found that Hadley had a kid right after the whole thing with Calvin, he dropped it pretty quick. Pam's a hell of a lot more likely to keep her mouth shut than Jason is." I sighed. "Jason might figure it out, of course. He remembers what I was like as a kid, and he's going to see a lot of the same things in Hunter. If he does, he's not going to mention it. He barely acknowledges that I can do it. Pam's a lot less likely to notice, since she hasn't seen Hunter around any humans other than me. If he figures it out, you can tell Pam."

Eric nodded. "I was hoping to take you out tomorrow night. Perhaps once your brother leaves, I could pick you up? Pam can stay with the boy, especially if you put him to bed before we leave."

I laughed. "Uh, I'll have to ask Pam, but I guess that's okay. I'm not up for anything too fancy. I'm not back to one hundred percent yet. Casual sounds pretty good right about now."

"Well, you've seen me bowling for vampires." He grinned, showing a bit of fang. "We could give the human variety a go."

I shuddered. "No. I don't bowl."

Eric arched an eyebrow at my reaction. "Do you have some kind of traumatic memory associated with bowling, Sookie? Even for you, that seems like a stretch." I looked at him sideways and shrugged. I hated even stepping foot in a bowling alley. Just renting shoes sent me right back to being a five year old girl, seeing those shoes on Uncle Bartlett's feet, seeing what he was going to do to me in his mind before he… Eric was looking really concerned now. Stupid blood bond. "Tell me what's wrong, Sookie."

I didn't look at him. "I had a funny uncle who was into bowling."

"I'm not familiar with the expression."

"He molested me when I was a kid."

Eric stayed very silent for a very long moment. "He is dead?"

"Yeah, uh, Bill killed him a while ago."

Eric nodded. "At least Compton was able to do one decent thing for you." I winced. Bill had, very recently, nearly wound up finally dead trying to save my ass. "This uncle…"

"Bartlett," I supplied.

"This Uncle Bartlett, did he rape you?"

I shrugged. "No. He was getting there, if his thoughts were any indication. It took a while to get someone to believe me. My mom didn't believe me. It wasn't until my parents died and I was living with my gran. She believed me, and basically disowned her brother." I sighed, trying to still my shaking hands. I thought about Uncle Bartlett and everything associated with him as infrequently as possible. "Anyway, I don't bowl."

Eric didn't look at me, but he took my hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. "In my time, well, such a thing would not be tolerated. I am sorry that you have been so badly treated by all the men in your life."

I thought about that. There was my brother, who was always looking out for Jason first. There was Bill, sent to seduce me by the vampire queen. Bill had also tried to pension me off before leaving me for his maker, and when I had to rescue his sorry ass from the ho, getting staked in the process, he repaid me by raping and nearly draining me. I knew he wasn't in his right mind, but it still hurt, physically and emotionally. Alcide had had all that mess with Debbie, before I killed her, and we never really got off the ground after that. Quinn, well, that was all kinds of mess. A lot of things were against us there. Quinn had refused to tell me about his past, which had been something (along with the whole, me getting bonded to Eric thing) that I'd wanted to talk about after Rhodes. Of course, he sold my people out to Nevada after Rhodes, and no matter how I looked at that, it hurt. I'd worried for weeks, wondering if he was alive or dead. He managed to get someone to pick up his sister's car, and couldn't get them to slip a note in my mailbox? Sam had been there for me whenever I needed him, and I sometimes wished I loved him in a romantic way. We'd had a few moments where we were close, but there had always been so much to lose, and I couldn't stand the thought of losing the friendship or my employment. My dad had always been a bit too involved with himself and my mother to really be in my life, and he died when I was so young. And of course there was Eric. That one was too confusing to even think about. I sighed. "Thanks Eric, that means a lot to me. You haven't been too bad, and Sam's always done right by me."

"I know I have not always treated as I should have, especially after the curse was ended. I am trying to do better. It helps to remember what went on when I stayed with you, to remember all the conversations we had. You never told me about the uncle."

"I really don't like talking about it. Bill basically dragged it out of me, as did you when you couldn't understand what I hated about bowling. I'm changing the subject now." He nodded. "I like thinking about all those conversations we had. You know so much about me, about my life. I know next to nothing about yours."

Eric smiled. "It was fairly difficult to tell you about a life I couldn't remember. What would you like to know?"

I thought for a while. He'd seen so much, done so much in his very long existence. "I dunno. For starters, what's been your favorite century?"

Eric laughed, and thought for a minute before he responded. "I've very much enjoyed the last hundred years. Things have been changing so quickly. Television, movies allowed me to see the sun for the first time in a millennium. Especially with things being in color now. Night school allowed me to actually be a student for the first time in my existence. So many places are now open twenty four hours, so I don't have to shop for my clothing only on dark winter afternoons. The internet means I don't even need to think about opening hours. It's liberating. I enjoy what I am, but it is enjoyable to have some limitations removed. The eighteenth century was fun. It comes in at a close second. I moved between Paris and London those days. I enjoyed the clothing, though the simplicity of today's clothes is also nice. The French Revolution was excellent for my kind. What about you? What time would you have liked to see?"

I smiled. Eric's answers were really interesting. They made sense. They were pure Eric. "That's a difficult question. I don't really know enough about any one time period to actually choose one. I like the idea of Ancient Greece, or Rome, but the lower classes never had it any good, and I'm not upper class material. I really like indoor plumbing, but at least the Romans had some of that. There are things I wish I could have seen, like the library in Alexandria or the hanging gardens of Babylon. If I could just pop around, I'd see it all, just to get rid of the romanticized notion everyone tends to have of the past."

Eric stroked my hair slowly. "I don't know why I still expect simplicity from you, lover. Sometimes I am still so surprised when I see some of your hidden depths."

I was a little offended by that, but I pushed the feeling away. "I guess it's the blonde hair and the boobs. So, what are your top ten inventions and why?"

"Well, the telephone in general, the cell phone in specific, is definitely in the top ten. The automobile is in there as well. I do love driving. Synthetic blood as well. I don't love the taste, but it has really freed us. I enjoy being out in the open. Indoor plumbing, as you reminded me. Not only do I love hot showers, humans have become much cleaner since it became the norm. The internet is another one. I love how you can do anything by internet these days. I hated having to rely on heavily glamoured human underlings to get things done during daylight hours. I love color television. I can see the day again, which I'd always imagined would be impossible. Printing has been a favorite for many years. I couldn't study in actual schools, but I've always loved learning and printed books made that much easier, even if I did frequently have to glamour someone into getting them for me." He grinned at that. "Denim. I've been wearing jeans pretty much since they were invented, but they've gotten so much better in recent years. I have a feeling that I'll be sticking with them no matter how fashions change in the future. Heels, on women. I always hated the heeled shoes men wore, one of the few things I despised about the eighteenth century, actually, but I love watching women walk in heels. They make their hips sway so delectably and do something amazing to their legs. My number one has to be lube, because well, it's an amazing product." The last one got me a fangy grin. Typical Eric. I laughed. "What about you lover?"

"Oh geez. Let's think. Okay, hair dryer, because I hate going out with wet hair. Libraries because I wouldn't have survived my childhood without one. The rollercoaster. I really love the things. It's so much fun to be scared in a completely safe, pretty much risk free environment. I'm going to thieve your cell phone entry. Even though I didn't get one for years, now that I have one, I couldn't live without it. Coffee. That's one I actually would be dead without. Probably, anyway. Chocolate, because I would have killed someone without that. The washing machine. I would hate to hand wash everything. I have enough trouble hand washing my nice bras. I can't imagine having to do all my laundry by hand. Cotton, because it's pretty much my favorite fabric, especially in the form of a cotton sundress. How many is that?"

"Eight, my lover."

"Okay, pecan pie, because it's pretty much the most amazing food ever. Finally, last but not least, the radio. I love the radio, I love cranking it up while I'm driving, singing along to any old thing, even though I can't sing worth a damn. It's better than therapy."

Eric smiled at me. "You've been in therapy? I guess it didn't stick?"

I narrowed my eyes and punched him lightly in the arm. "Thanks Eric. My parents sent me to a bunch of shrinks when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me with the whole mind reading thing. They decided that I was just abnormally good at reading people. It sucked. I'll stick to singing in the shower and alone in my car."

"Why did your parents hate your telepathy so? You've never really explained it to me. Why didn't they celebrate your unique talent?"

I laughed until my sides hurt. "Eric, I think you take a bit of a different view of my telepathy since I can't read you. How would you feel if I was in your head, all the time, responding to things you thought, not what you said, pulling bits and pieces out of your mind?"

"I suppose I would not enjoy it, lover."

Good thing he didn't know I did it sometimes, then. "It was really hard on my parents. A lot of crap goes on in people's lives that they don't hash out with their five year old. I always knew when they'd had a fight or were having money problems, plus I knew all their friends problems. It creeped people out. They lost friends over me. You also have to remember that I was seeing all this through the eyes of a kid. It's hard to really understand or explain at five, and they didn't really know what was wrong with me. I just knew things I had no way of knowing." I shrugged. "It might have turned out differently if they hadn't died while I was still so young." I yawned and snuggled into his chest. "So, where are you going to take me on our date? Dinner and a movie is pretty traditional."

"May I leave it as a surprise?"

"Sure, but let's keep it casual. No whisking me off somewhere for a weekend of debauchery. I don't want to rush into this whole 'us' thing. It doesn't tend to go well for me. I don't want to screw this up by getting too serious too quickly."

"I don't know how much more serious we could get, lover. We are married, technically."

I laughed and snuggled into him. "No ring, no dress, no wedding, Eric. Those are the rules. And for the record, I don't think anyone should get engaged without dating for at the very least a solid six months. That's the bare minimum. Same with living together, so don't get any ideas."

Eric was pretty warm and fuzzy through the bond, so I didn't think he was offended. "Glad to be informed, lover. Get some sleep."

"Wake me before you go, okay?"

I felt him kiss my hair as I drifted off.


	5. Chapter 5

Lunch at Merlotte's was not a success. Two hours later, Hunter was still curled in my lap, sniffling occasionally. I stroked his back and hoped he'd cry himself to sleep. It was pretty selfish of me, but I really didn't know what else to do for him.

We'd gotten seated and ordered fine, Sam had had a chat with our two Were chaperones, than sat down with us and chatted for a while. He was friendly with Hunter, and didn't ask me when I wanted to come back, even though I could tell from his mind he was short staffed. Just before our food came, a group of ladies from the Descendants of the Glorious Dead came in. They'd all been friends with my gran, so they stopped at our table to say hello. I introduced them to Hunter, explaining that he was Hadley's son, and they instantly started projecting some of the nastiest thoughts I'd ever witnessed. I knew how catty these women could get from years of experience, but this was mean even for them. I snapped the earmuffs into place, but it was too late. Hunter burst into tears. I scooped him up, mumbling some excuse about him not getting his nap and high tailed it to Sam's office.

Sam came in a minute or so after and between the two of us, and it still took Hunter twenty minutes to calm down enough to even speak. Sam figured out pretty quick that Hunter and I shared an interesting trait. He always was an observant guy. He packed up our meals for us and helped me bundle Hunter into the car. By the time we got home, he had worked himself down to sniffles, but they'd stuck, tears forcing their way out occasionally, usually accompanied by the words, "Why were they so mean? They don't even know me!"

I certainly knew where he was coming from. I'd learned the 'crazy Sookie smile' as a defense mechanism. My childhood had been pretty rough. Hunter also didn't know much about his mom, since she'd left pretty much as soon as he'd been born, and he was sad about that. He had some ideas of her that he'd gleaned from his father's thoughts. To be suddenly bombarded by so many negative images, both of yourself and the mother you never got to know was pretty bad. It was also pretty hard for an almost five year old to process. I tried to think back to what I'd wanted when I'd had an episode like this.

"Hey, Hunter?" I felt him nod against my lap. "Do you want to come lay down with me and have a cuddle?" Vigorous nodding. I picked him up, got him into his pjs, dumped him into my bed so I could pop into the bathroom and throw some yoga pants and a t-shirt on then hopped into bed with him. I projected feelings of love and protection into his mind. He snuggled into my side, and he finally fell asleep after I stroked his back for half an hour. Once he was fully asleep, I reached over and snagged the phone from my night stand. I dialed Eric's cell. He wouldn't be up, but at least I could leave him a voicemail.

After listening to the surprisingly generic message prompt (just the standard computer message, with Eric saying his name) I started talking. "Hey, Eric. Hunter had a really rough day today. I don't know about going out. Call me when you get up okay? It's Sookie by the way. I'm sure you figured that out already. Hanging up now." I shook my head and hung up the phone. God, I sounded like an idiot. On to the next call.

Jason's phone rang twice before he picked up. "Hey, Sook, what's up?"

"Hey Jase. Hunter's not feeling great. You're still welcome to come over, but I'm just going to pull out a sympathy casserole out of the freezer if that's okay." I'd frozen most of the casseroles and pies I'd been given after my 'car accident', since I wouldn't have had time to go through them all. Hunter curled closer into my side and I stroked his hair.

"That's cool, sis. Is he okay?" Jason actually sounded concerned. I was impressed.

"Yeah, I just think he's coming down with something. He threw a bit of a tantrum when I took him to Merlotte's for lunch. He's crashed out now, but he's glued to my side."

"Is it okay if I still come by?"

"Sure Jason. He might not be as bouncy as normal, but hopefully an extra long nap will sort him out. Can you come by around 5:30?"

"Un hun. Need me to pick anything up?" That might actually be a first. Jason was offering to pick something up before I asked him?

"Uh, well, one of Maxine's peach pies is in the freezer, so some vanilla ice cream would be good. I'm also out of cream for coffee if you could grab some."

"No prob sis. I'll be by between 5:30 and 6:00, okay?"

"Yep, thanks Jase."

I hung up, then dialed Pam's cell. I didn't think Hunter would be up to being left on his own with her, but just in case, I figured I should ask if she was even okay with that.

Pam's message was a little more original than Eric's. "You've reached Pam. If I decide you're wasting my time with some trivial nonsense, I will find you and I will drain you."

It made me laugh every time. "Uh, hey Pam, it's Sookie. I wanted to check if it would be okay to leave you in the house alone with Hunter. I might be going out with Eric tonight. I'd get him to sleep before we left, so you'd just need to deal with him if he wakes up. Let me know if it's too big of an imposition. Tonight may or may not go ahead, because Hunter's had a pretty bad day. Call me."

Phone calls done, I took a moment to watch Hunter sleeping. Ah, the woes of the young telepath. I thought about what thoughts he would have gotten before I put his head on lock down. Hadley as a fang banger, Hadley drugged out at the end of high school, Hadley dead in a gutter. There were also several less than flattering opinions of his dad thrown in for good measure, not to mention the thoughts that Hunter himself couldn't be any good having come from a loser like Hadley. Poor kiddo. Some of the things he wouldn't really understand, but a lot of it was understandable regardless of age, especially the general feelings of disgust.

I thought of myself at his age. I'd had some pretty bad days, especially once I started school. Being a bit weird is hard enough. Having an entire classroom of kids _and_ your teacher thinking it at you was quite another. I'd come home in tears a lot, but I'd learned pretty quickly not to cry in school. It just made it worse. I'd toughened up pretty quick. I hadn't had a choice. How was I going to make this easier on Hunter? He wasn't having any real luck shielding. It took too much concentration. I couldn't even shield one hundred percent, not even when completely hopped up on vamp blood. What hope did a little kid have? I gave him a quick hug before dashing to the kitchen to whip a casserole and the pie out of the freezer to defrost. I grabbed my cell, in case Eric or Pam called back on that, and a book before climbing back into bed with him. I flicked the alarm on for 4:00 pm just in case I joined the kiddo in slumberland then opened my book. I made it about forty pages before it sagged onto my face and I drifted off.

The alarm woke both of us at four, and I carried Hunter to the kitchen. The pie had mostly defrosted, but the casserole hadn't, so I threw it into the microwave to defrost a bit more. I popped Hunter down on the counter. "So, kiddo, do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head and I sighed. Too bad for him, I did. "It's really hard to be like us, Hunter. You need to understand that people think that no one knows what's going on in their minds. People think things they don't really mean and would never say. It's really hard to ignore what people are thinking when it's mean and hurtful. You just have to smile and ignore it. We'll keep working on getting you shielding, but it's going to be really hard. Is that okay?"

He nodded and I waited since I knew he wanted to say something. "It's not fair."

I hugged him. "I know, kiddo. Trust me, I know. You shouldn't have to go through this. I'll be there for you, whenever you need me, okay?" He nodded and sniffed once. "Are you excited to meet Jason?"

"Is he going to be nice?"

"I should think so. He's also a bit harder to read, like Don and Beau." Hunter nodded. "Do you want to a watch movie until he gets here?"

"Okay. Can we watch Finding Nemo again, please?"

Jason actually showed up when he said he would, which had to be a first. He'd even brought me the cream and vanilla ice cream I'd asked for.

"Hey Sook! So who's the little man then?"

Hunter had cheered up considerably after watching the movie. His dad had warned me I might be seeing it a lot. I worried about Hunter, about the best way to go about all this. I was going to have to remind myself that kids in general are pretty resilient, and telepathic kids have to be even more so. I'd had my fair share of bad days. I got through it. At least Hunter would have someone to talk to who knew what he was going through. I just felt like I should be able to do more.

"I'm Hunter. You're Jason? Are you my uncle since Aunt Sookie is my aunt?" Hunter held out his little hand to Jason, and the look Jason gave him really touched me. For the first time in my life I thought that Jason might actually be a pretty good dad.

"Sure thing, Hunter. I'll be your Uncle Jase. What about your Aunt Sookie takes you by my place this Saturday and we'll fish in my pond? Uncles should take their nephews fishing." Jason winked at me and I laughed.

Dinner went really well, and got rid of any residual gloominess Hunter had. Jason was great with Hunter, making him laugh so much I had to remind him to eat. I guess Jason could really relate to a little boy, since that's exactly what he still was. About half way through dinner, I heard my cell phone ringing in the bedroom and excused myself to go get it. Seeing as it was just after dark, it was probably Eric or Pam.

"Hello, lover." I plopped down onto my bed.

"Hey, Eric. You have a good rest?"

"It was fairly standard, my dear. Did you have a trying day?"

"You could say that. Hunter had a bit of a breakdown at lunch."

"What caused it?"

"Have I ever mentioned that old women tend to be the most vicious creatures known to man?"

"Not that I recall."

I shrugged. "Some of those ladies could give Things One and Two a run for their money." Eric made a slightly questioning noise. "That's what I called the fairies before I knew their names." I could practically feel Eric stiffen over the phone and I sighed. "Eric, I have to joke about this. I'm riding a pretty fine line between being together and being in a million pieces." I heard him draw an unnecessary breath. "Just… Can't we talk about this later? I just made a joke."

"Fine, but lover, we will talk about this. What did these women do?"

"Do you know anything about my cousin Hadley?"

"Only that she was turned a few years ago, and that she was seeing Sophie-Anne before she finally died.

"Well, she was a bit of a wild child. She got into drugs during high school, she left Bon Temps, she didn't even come home when her mother was dying of cancer. My gran gave her money for rehab a few times, but those were the only times we ever heard from Hadley. She's not very well thought of, especially amongst friends of my gran. A group of these ladies came into Merlotte's while we were having lunch. They came to say hello, and I introduced Hunter as Hadley's son, since they knew her. As soon as they knew who he was, well, I snapped my shields around him, but he caught a mindful. He had a pretty big crying fit, I had to take him home and he's been glued to my side all day. He's cheered up with Jason."

"Are you still willing to go out with me this evening, then?" If it hadn't been Eric, I would have thought he sounded nervous, but this was _Eric_.

"Willing hasn't been the issue, Eric. I'd love to go out with you. It's only been the able bit in question. I'll talk to him and see what he says. It should be fine, so long as Pam can come and watch him. Have you talked to her yet? I left a message."

"I will call her now. She should be at your home in an hour to relieve the Weres. I have some work to take care of before I am able to come to you. May I pick you up at nine?"

I laughed. Eric actually asked? That was new. "Sure. Hunter should be pretty settled by then. I'll call you if he has any issues. See you later, Eric."

"Goodbye, lover." I clicked the phone off and sighed. What were we even going to do? What does a barmaid in her late twenties have in common with a thousand year old Viking vampire? We certainly had chemistry. There was no doubt about that. Eric could probably have chemistry with a stick, but that was beside the point. What else did we have?

What did he even want with me? Even if he did love me, in his own way, this was only going to end badly for him. He had promised not to turn me, so I would die, hopefully in a few decades, but he would just keep on existing, baring accidents or explosions or stakes. I would age, even if my bit of fairy blood gave me slightly longer than normal. I didn't know if it would, of course. Niall's half fairy kids had lived at least about seven hundred years and weren't old. Aunt Linda and my dad had both died young, so I had no idea how long they would have lived. I probably should have asked Niall before he left for his home. Well, in the end, it didn't matter. Eric would be there long after I went where ever I ended up. Was it fair to want him to love me if the inevitable end was my death? Could I trust him not to get fed up with my humanity and just turn me? This is why we needed to keep things casual. Was Eric even capable of love? Was any vampire? Bill had said he loved me so many times. I suppose he does, in his own way, but how long had he been saying it before he actually did? Yes, casual was better. If I didn't get in too deep, I wouldn't get my heart stomped on yet again.

My musing was interrupted some time later when Pam arrived. That gave me some incentive to get Hunter through bath time and into bed once Jason left. They'd really had a good time together, and Jason was really excited about fishing with Hunter at the weekend. Hunter took a little longer than normal to get to sleep, especially once I told him that Pam would be watching him while I was out for a couple hours with Eric. Hunter tried to insist that he would stay awake until Eric arrived so he could say hello, but I managed to nix that idea. He finally got to sleep and I managed to call Eric to find out what I should be wearing on our casual date.

"You said casual, lover. What ever you choose will be fine." Well, Eric's typical uniform consisted of jeans and a Fangtasia t-shirt, so I threw my hair into a pony tail, pulled on my favorite jeans (size eight) and stood around in my bra trying to decide on a shirt.

"While I'm sure my master would appreciate the wardrobe choice, you might be aiming towards slightly too casual, Sookie."

"Jesus Christ on the cross, Pam. You nearly gave me a heart attack! Can you help me out, since you've gone to the trouble of invading my bedroom? I won't even yell at you for staring at my tits." I didn't care if the last comment was pretty rude. She was staring at my tits. She pulled her eyes up towards my face and nodded.

I showed her the three shirts I'd narrowed it down to. One was a red button down with short cap sleeves, one was a navy cotton v-neck and the last one was slightly shimmery gold, high in the front with a tie around the back. It dipped pretty low in the back, sitting just above my bra band. Pam picked the gold one, and convinced me to wear some strappy gold heels.

I didn't notice the loose thread on the shirt's hem until just over an hour later. I was in the passenger seat of Eric's corvette, and he was screaming, _screaming,_ at me. I'd never seen him display so much emotion. He'd even pulled over to the side of the interstate. Technically, I wasn't seeing him now. I was staring at the hem of my shirt, running my fingers over the loose thread. _I'll have to fix that when I get home._

I tuned back into what he was saying. "How can you think I am the kind of person who would accept your pledge and leave you because of a few grey hairs?"

I sighed. "If we're going to have this conversation, you need to calm down."

Eric started muttering to himself. "She is convinced I will leave her and she wants me to be calm. The gods must be punishing me for forsaking them to put me in the path of such a woman. After everything, she still cannot trust me!" He didn't stop muttering, but he switched to some other language, so I couldn't understand. Finally, he lapsed back into English. "Fine. Speak your piece."

How had we even gotten here? Ah yes, I'd made an off hand joke about him trading me in for a newer model, like a car, when he mentioned that he was considering trading in his current 'vette. I sighed. "I just don't see why you're with me, to be honest. What are you going to get out of this besides heartache? You know I don't mean that in a material way, right?" He nodded, but his jaw was tight. "It's just that you have to know how this will end. I don't want to be turned, and you've said you won't turn me. Either you'll break your promise and I'll spend eternity furious with you, or I'll die. To be fair, I wouldn't make it to eternity. I'd probably meet the sun pretty quickly. Regardless, I'll die, much sooner than you will. Why would you want to spend time with someone who will, one day far too soon, die?"

Eric sat in silence for a solid five minutes. I couldn't even begin to sort out his feelings through the bond. I didn't know if I wanted to. Finally he spoke. "I will not lie to you, Sookie. I hope, very strongly, that you will change your mind about being turned. I am a kind maker. Pam has told you as much. If you ever do change your mind, I hope that you come to me. After the first few years, once you have better control of yourself, you would be free to do as you pleased, though of course I would hope you remained with me. If you choose to remain as a human, I will respect that decision, and will try to make other vampires respect that decision. It will pain me greatly to lose you, but I am no stranger to loss. I will accept whatever time you choose to give me. I respect you too much to take that choice away from you."

Now it was my turn to sit in silence. I was floored. Finally I found something to say. "Thank you, Eric. I appreciate your respect more than anything. I don't see how you can respect me, since I must seem like a child to you." Eric smiled slightly. "I don't think I'll ever want to be turned. You need to know that upfront. If it came to a choice of being turned by you and being turned by some other vampire, I would choose you, but I would most likely choose to meet the sun soon after. I also just want to see where we go. I've never had a great relationship with the men in my life." Eric laughed openly at that and I glared at him. "Well, I suppose I don't need to tell you that, but I want to take things slowly. I just don't want to get my heart broken again. I don't want to get too serious too quick."

Eric pulled back onto the interstate and was silent as he drove. I watched the streetlights flicker by. Finally he spoke. "How do we take things slowly?"

I smiled. "We just continue as we are. We go out occasionally, we stay in. We have our own homes, our own lives. We spend time together when we want to. I don't want to think about the long term yet, I want to just enjoy the day to day."

Eric seemed to consider this for a moment. "That is acceptable to me. I find myself enjoying the time I spend with you. I do not need anything more at the moment." I saw him nod slightly to himself. "I will always respect you, Sookie. You are always honest, as honest as you can be, especially with me. You never fear me, and you refuse to treat me any differently than the humans you interact with. It is refreshing." He reached out and took my hand, his thumb gently stroking my palm. He continued doing so for the next ten minutes, until he pulled into a parking spot in one of the trendier areas of Shreveport.

I had to hand it to Eric. I asked for casual, he delivered. He led me into a dimly lit café. A guitarist played modern folk music quietly on a low set stage. Eric led us to a couple of well-stuffed arm chairs in one corner. A very unobtrusive waitress brought me coffee with half and half and a true blood for Eric and we sat listening to the music for a few minutes. I sipped my coffee and Eric drank his blood.

I took a few minutes to study the guitarist. She was a petite brunette, thin without being too skinny. Her mind was pretty quiet, since she was so focused on her music. I did pick up that she'd written everything she was playing for her first set herself. She introduced a song as "A Traveling Song" and one of the lines really caught me. The whole song was pretty enjoyable, and upbeat. It took me through the first chorus to realize it was about breaking up amicably, but a few lines really called Eric to my mind. Just after she finished singing, "One day I'll have to tell a lie to you, 'cause the mouth on you calls the truth right out of me," I looked at Eric to find his eyes on me. We smiled at each other. I never could lie to Eric. I looked back to the singer until the line "I'll call you what you are and what you are is just fine." At that point I took Eric's hand, kissed the back of it and grinned at him.

We spent about two hours listening to music. I moved from coffee to white wine, the singer moved from originals to covers and we talked about little, inconsequential things, about how Hunter was doing with me, amusing moments from our childhoods. When the brunette finished, we left the café. I managed to convince Eric I needed to use the bathroom and to wait for me in the car, and I bought two copies of the cds she was selling for ten bucks each. When I got to the car, Eric was on his cell phone. He looked intense and focused. I slipped into the passenger seat without a word. He ended the call a minute later without a word.

He looked uneasy, so I decided to pry a little. "Anything I need to know about?"

He sighed. "Dermott has been sighted in Niall's kingdom. He won't be returning to the human realm."

I felt like I'd been kicked in the chest. I'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop since the end of the fairy war. Now it felt like I'd come to the bottom of a set of stairs to find a last step hidden there. The world dropped out from under me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, I couldn't think. All I could hear were the rattling gasps I was managing to pull down my throat. Soon even that noise stopped.

I'm pretty sure I passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was laid out on the hood of Eric's car. He had turned me on my side and was stroking my back. I took an experimental breath and sat up, swaying slightly. Eric placed a hand on my elbow to steady me. He smiled slightly. "As much as I was enjoying imagining taking you right here, lover, I'm glad you have come back to me. Are you well?"

I took stock. Well? Certainly not. "I had a panic attack, I think." I could feel tears running down my face. Ever since I'd been taken, since I'd given up in that shack in Arkansas, I'd just assumed I was going to die. I might not be dead yet, but some part of me was already there, just waiting for the rest of me to figure out that I had died, that I was done. Now he was telling me I wouldn't be dying in the foreseeable future. I cried harder.

I'd built walls. I'd kept it together while I waited for the end. Here it was, and the walls were crumbling and I was falling apart. All I could do was cry. Eric, thank God, let me. He didn't say anything, just stroked my hair and wrapped an arm around me. Finally, my tears slowed and sobs only shook my shoulders periodically. Eric scooped me up and put me in the passenger seat of his car, buckling my seat belt. I wiped at my face, still staring into space.

Eric stood outside for a few minutes, and I noticed him put his phone back in his pocket before he got into the driver's seat. "I'm taking you home."

I nodded, watching as he pulled out of his parking space and onto the road. "I'm sorry I ruined our night, Eric." He took my hand and lifted it to his lips to kiss it lightly.

"It's fine lover. Lay back and rest." My sobs slowly died away with Eric stroking my palm and my eyes drifted shut before we even got on the interstate.

**A/N** If you're interested in the music I mentioned in this chapter, you can check out my friend's my space: www (dot) myspace (dot) com/ashleyjaykramer

You know the deal, take the spaces out. I love her and her music to death. She's in the peace core at the moment and I miss her like crazy. Check her out. My personal favorites on her myspace are Ahab, Traveling Song and The Leash.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: At the end of this chapter, I refer to Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. It's an amazingly wonderful book, and if you're not familiar with it, read it. If your are familiar with it, read it to a child you love. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about when I bring it up, here's mt favorite paragraph:

_The unicorn was weary of human beings. Watching her companions as they slept, seeing the shadows of their dreams scurry over their faces, she would feel herself bending under the heaviness of knowing their names. Then she would run until morning to ease the ache: swifter than rain, swift as loss, racing to catch up with the time when she had known nothing at all but the sweetness of being herself. Often then, between the rush of one breath and the reach of another, it came to her that Schmendrick and Molly were long dead, and King Haggard as well, and the Red Bull met and mastered—so long ago that the grandchildren of the stars that had seen it all happen were withering now, turning to coal—and that she was still the only unicorn left in the world._

Anyway, it makes me wonder how any immortal would feel, living amongst such transient creatures as we.

* * *

Morning light was streaming through my curtains when Hunter hopped onto my bed. "Morning, Aunt Sookie!"

I rubbed my eyes sleepily. I could feel that they were puffy from crying last night, and my head ached. I pulled Hunter into a hug. "Hey kiddo. Did you wake up at all last night with Pam?"

He nodded with a smile. "I talked to her for an hour before she told me to go back to bed. It was really fun. I like Pam almost as much as Eric."

Grand. I was not looking forward to the phone call I was going to get at first dark. "Hunter, that was not very nice. You should have stayed in bed."

"I had to go to the bathroom."

I smiled a lopsided grin. "Well, you could have gone back to bed once you were done."

He frowned slightly. "Pam was lonely. I just wanted to cheer her up." I went white. Had he heard something from her mind? "She said she was lonely anyway, and that the TV was boring her." Hunter elongated the 'o' sound in boring and I grinned in relief. All I needed was for him to start getting glimpses of the vamps. I didn't trust what Pam had said. Why had she wanted to speak to Hunter? Did she suspect something? I'm sure I'd hear all about it at dusk.

"What did you guys talk about?" I tried to sound nonchalant. It probably didn't work, but what did he know? The kid wasn't even five.

"I told her about my house and my dad and how I can't have a puppy and play group. She told me about the dog her brother had when she was a little girl." He smiled happily.

"Okay, well, lets get dressed, and then I'll get you some breakfast." Twenty minutes later, we were both dressed and Hunter was enjoying a bowl of Life while I sipped my coffee. There was a knock at the door and I could feel Hunter reach out with his mind at the same moment I did. Perhaps he was making more progress than I gave him credit for.

He broke out in a grin. "It's Beau and Don. Can I get the door?" I made sure to do a slightly more through check before nodding that he could. He sprinted to the door to let them in and I followed more slowly.

They'd taken to stopping by the house at least once a day, having a cup of coffee with us, letting me know that everything was going well. Once we'd settled back into the kitchen and they had their coffee, Don started talking to me. "So, Sookie, Northman tells us the main threat has been neutralized." I nodded. As far as I knew that was true. "Looks like you're going to be fine." I tried to keep my breathing even. I was fine. Really. "Beau and I will be sticking around for a few more days at least, but you shouldn't feel like you need to be in the house as much. Just let us know and one of us will go with you. You probably won't even need us in a week."

I sighed and tried to smile, to feel relaxed. "Thank you both so much. It really means so much to me that you've been looking out for me." I caught a stray thought from Beau. "I know you're both being paid, but it still means a lot to me. I just wanted to say thank you." Of course, I was going to have to find some way to pay Eric back. I needed to call Sam, finalize a date for getting back to work, at least part time while I tried to get my energy back. I shook my head, startled at how much like myself I sounded. It felt good. "Hunter and I are going to go out for lunch again today, if one of you would like to tag along." Hunter looked apprehensive, so I laid a soothing hand on his back.

I chatted with the Weres for a few more minutes while Hunter stared silently into his cereal. When they left he turned to me. "Aunt Sookie, I don't think I'll be hungry for lunch." His voice was so small and dejected I almost started crying.

"We're not going to the same place kiddo, and even if we did, no one is going to be mean to you, I promise." I'd be kicking some serious butt if anyone was. He wasn't having another day like yesterday. "You need to practice, and it'll do both of us some good to get out of the house. How about we go sit on the porch and work on your books until we want to go have lunch, okay?"

I popped dishes in the dishwasher and met Hunter out on the back porch. He had several early reader books, and we set about going through them. He had a harder time of it with me than with his dad, since he couldn't pull the words right out of my head like he could with other adults, but he was still making pretty good progress for someone not even five. He was smart. It was another reason I didn't want school to be ruined by his telepathy.

When Beau came up onto the porch at 12:30, Hunter had learned about a dozen new words, and he eagerly showed the Were what he could do. Beau made a point of looking impressed, and Hunter beamed.

The three of us went to a diner in Clarice, and it went much better for Hunter. By the end of lunch he could turn the volume down, so to speak, on all but the strongest broadcasters in the place. It wasn't shielding, but it was better than nothing. It made me feel a lot more confident in my ability to teach him, at the very least. Beau had given us privacy for the meal, sitting on the other side of the diner. Hunter got a bit better at picking out the few shifters in the room, and I even guided him into a few people's trains of thought, just going slightly under the surface.

I was a little wary of that aspect of teaching Hunter. I always felt like it was rude to delve into someone's thoughts without any warning, but at the same time it had saved my life on numerous occasions. I figured I would just have to stress that he shouldn't do it if he could avoid it.

We split a vanilla milkshake at the end of our meal, and Hunter glanced at me curiously as we sipped it together. "Aunt Sookie, what's the Fellowship of the Sun?"

I didn't panic, but I did quickly rummage through the minds in the restaurant. Two guys chatting over burgers were Fellowship members. I went a bit deeper, but they didn't seem to be thinking anything too sinister. "Well, it's a group of people who really don't like vampires." They didn't much like the two natured either, since they'd come 'out of the dog-house', as was Pam was fond of saying. "You shouldn't go into their heads to often, kiddo. They tend to be mean people, and they really don't like it if someone is different. They tend to hate people for no reason."

"But vampires are so nice!" Hunter kept his voice low, but emphatic. I smiled.

"Hunter, vampires are like people. Some are nice, some are not nice. I've only introduced you to nice vampires, but some are very bad. You can't ever generalize, kiddo. Everybody is different in their own way." I reached over and ruffled his hair. "Have you had enough of this milkshake? I want to go to the library before we go home." He nodded, so I paid our check and signaled to Beau that we were ready to head out.

I dropped off books at the library that were just about due, and we picked out some books for Hunter, both books he could practice reading on his own and books I would read to him before bed. After checking out the books, I decided he needed some outside time after spending four days cooped up in my house, so we went to explore the library playground.

We managed to kill a couple hours there. Beau roughhoused a bit with him, and I pushed him on the swings. He even played with some other local kids who came by, playing tag and spinning on the tire swing. Once he seemed thoroughly exhausted, I decided he needed to head home and have his much delayed nap.

He was tired and cranky, so he tried to kick up a fuss about leaving, but I would have none of it and managed to get him in the car with only a few tears. He was asleep before we even got home, so I carried him to his room, got him changed and tucked him in. It was already nearly four, so I figured he could sleep for an hour and not have his sleep schedule too messed up. I'd need to talk to Pam about letting him sit up for so long last night.

I sighed to myself before making my way to the kitchen to figure out something for dinner. Hunter wasn't too picky, for a child, but no kid liked too many odd things. I poked through the fridge for a few minutes before deciding to make beef stew. Since I had some time to kill, I pulled out one of Gran's recipe books and flipped through until I found her recipe for dinner rolls. They weren't as simple as biscuits, since they involved yeast and rising, but they were as simple as it got for raised bread. I'd also do what Gran did, par baking and freezing the ones I wouldn't use today.

I must have been kneading the dough for several minutes before I even felt the tears on my face. By that point a few were dripping off my chin and dropping into my dough. It was like going through these familiar motions had unclenched something inside me. These weren't painful tears, these weren't gasping, choking sobs; something was being released. I still felt tension gripping my chest and shoulders, but something was draining out of me with my tears.

I was alive. Somehow, I'd made it through the latest round of awfulness my life decided to throw at me. So many people hadn't been so lucky, but I was still here. I still had to keep the darkness at bay, had to keep those memories away by force. I wasn't suddenly fixed, but I felt like I might have the time to actually heal.

I kept crying as I kneaded, and while I browned the meat for the stew. Tears fell on my knuckles as I chopped carrots and celery and baby potatoes. I cried as I punched down the risen dough and shaped it into twelve rolls. Half an hour later, when I put the doubled rolls in the oven I finally seemed to get the tears under control.

I felt drained, but somehow cleansed. I'd had catharsis as a word of the day at some point, and I couldn't think of a better application. I took a few deep, shuddering breaths. One day, not a day soon, but one day, I was going to be me again. When I pulled the half baked rolls out of the oven to be frozen, I wasn't crying anymore.

At this point, dinner was happily cooking along. The stew needed about another hour to cook. I went to my bathroom and carefully washed my face. My eyes were actually less puffy than they had been this morning. They were still watery and red-rimmed, but the puffiness had gone down.

I took a minute to stand in the doorway to Hunter's room, just watching him sleep. He'd balled up his blankets and was hugging them along with his teddy and was making little noises periodically. I hated to wake him when he looked so peaceful, but if I let him sleep anymore, he would never get to bed tonight. I opened the curtains, but it didn't make much difference. Sunset had snuck up on me.

"Hunter, kiddo," I said quietly, while gently stroking his arm. "It's time to get up." He opened his eyes sleepily, but I did eventually manage to get him up. Since he'd be going back to bed in a few hours, we decided he could stay in his pjs until then.

I wasn't too surprised to hear a knock on the door about an hour after sunset, accompanied by the void of a vampire outside. After confirming my suspicions, and sending Hunter back to the TV, I opened the door. "Hey Pam. Thanks for watching Hunter last night. Come on in, I'll get you a blood." She brushed past me without a word and headed straight to the kitchen.

I sighed and followed, figuring I might as well get straight into it. "So," I said, while putting a blood to heat up, "Hunter tells me he sat up with you for a bit last night." She looked me straight in the eyes, and I could feel her slithery vampire mind trying to reach out to me. "God, Pam, knock it off. You know that doesn't work on me!" Now I was just offended.

She nodded, as if confirming something to herself. "It also doesn't work on your cousin's child. Your brother, however, I distinctly remember glamouring when Eric was here under the witch's curse." My face kept still, but my heart was racing at a mile a minute. _Okay, just breathe. Don't smile, she knows your crazy smile. Just breathe. In, out._ "I wonder what other little traits you and your cousin's child share?"

Hunter picked that moment to come into the kitchen, against my very explicit instructions. "Are you okay, Aunt Sookie?"

"Sure, Hunter, we're fine. Did you want something?" I focused on keeping him out of my mind, since the only thing going through it was a string of curses he just didn't need to learn.

He looked unsure for a second, glancing from me to Pam. "Can I have some juice?"

I went to the fridge, hoping to compose myself. "Sure, kiddo. Orange or red grape?"

"Orange." I poured some into one of his cups with a lid so he could take it back to the living room.

Pam seemed to like having him exactly where he was, however. "Hunter, I was just telling your _Aunt Sookie_," I didn't like the way she said that, but just let her continue, "How much you two have in common. It's so _interesting_ to see the family resemblance."

Hunter just looked confused. "Thank you, I guess. Can I go back to my show?"

"You go ahead, kiddo. Pam and I will be out in a minute." I got myself a glass of water, taking long slow sips.

Pam tapped her perfectly manicured nails along the counter. "Dear Abby says that no friendship can exist without honesty. We are friends, aren't we Sookie?"

I sighed. "Jeez, Pam, cool it. I get it, you figured it out. Congratulations. Hunter's like me."

She grinned, showing me the very tips of her fangs. "At least you admit that you lied to me. Don't do it again, I don't like it."

I gave her a look. "I didn't actually lie to you. You never asked if Hunter was a telepath, and I never mentioned it. He is staying with me because his father is away on work. He doesn't get along with his grandparents."

Pam took a long sip of her blood. "Does Eric know?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Of course Eric knows! Hunter managed to let it slip before I even got him home, while I was on the phone with Eric. Anyway, we need to keep this between us. I'm just trying to help him get things a little bit under control before he starts school in the fall. I don't want him getting dragged into the crap fest that is my life."

Pam nodded, slowly. "Why did you choose to keep this from me? Do you believe I would cause the child to come to harm?"

I took a good long look at Pam. In an odd way, she was my friend. I did trust her, and while I was sure she was capable of hurting Hunter, I didn't think she would. She could be cold, and sarcastic, but somehow I just didn't think she'd use a child like that. "I don't think you'd hurt him. It's just one of those things I would prefer to be a secret. I haven't even told Amelia or my brother. It's not about you. It's about Hunter. It's his life, and he needs to grow up enough to figure it out before I drop him in amongst the supernatural world." Pam nodded, and came back to the living room with me. We sat together, and I made Hunter get one of his new books so he could do a bit more reading practice.

Soon enough, dinner was done and Pam said goodnight, telling me she was behind on her duties at the bar and needed to go there since she "wasn't required to babysit any humans tonight", so Hunter and I said goodnight. Hunter was cheerful through dinner, asking questions about fishing with Jason in two days time. He asked if they could have a sleep over.

I smiled, telling him I'd check with Jason. I hoped Jason hadn't forgotten about it. It would be so like him to meet some floozy Friday night and forget all his plans with Hunter. I made a mental note to call him tomorrow.

Once we'd finished dinner and tidied up, I pulled out my copy of the cd from the night before and got Hunter to dance with me in the living room. I loved dancing, and Hunter was still small enough that I could pick him up and swing him around. It was exhausting, but so much fun. We were both out of breath from dancing and laughing by the time the cd played twice and collapsed on the couch. I turned the volume down and noticed the phone ringing, and went to the kitchen to get it.

"Hello?" I was still slightly out of breath, and it was obvious I'd been laughing.

"You seem to be in a good mood lover. Have you had a good evening?"

I though for a moment. "I have actually. Pam stopped by. She figured out about Hunter."

"Yes, she mentioned that. What's that music playing in the background?"

I smiled. "It's actually the woman we heard play yesterday. I, uh, bought you a copy as well. I was going to give it to you last night, but, uh, you know…" I trailed off, not really wanting to say that I'd had a mental breakdown before passing out in his car.

"What did you get up to with your 'kiddo' today, my lover?"

I gave him a brief overview of our day, and he made noises in all the right places, but I could tell he wasn't completely focused. "Are you very busy, Eric? I'm going to need to put Hunter to bed soon, and I was going to read some of The Last Unicorn to him tonight. I'll probably just watch a movie and then head to bed myself."

Eric sighed. "Things are quite hectic here. The new manager is still learning her way around, so Pam and I are doing more than we normally must, and I am dealing with area business as well."

I smiled to myself. "You've been dealing with my crap all week, Eric. Take some time to deal with yours. Jason might be taking Hunter on Saturday. Do you want me to come by Fangtasia if he winds up sleeping there?"

"That sounds wonderful, Sookie." I leaned against the kitchen counter. Eric sounded like he was actually pleased at the prospect. "How likely do you think it your brother will remember his obligations?"

I shrugged, even though Eric couldn't see me. "I'd say it's fifty-fifty at the moment. He's been pretty interested in getting to know Hunter, but it is Jason, so who knows. I won't say either way until Saturday. I'm going to go dance with Hunter a bit more before I put him to bed. Get back to work, and I'll call you after dark on Saturday, okay?"

"Of course, lover. Sweet dreams."

"Night, Eric." I hung up and went to the living room, managing to catch Hunter as he was jumping on the couch, wrapping him in a giant bear hug. I switched the cd to one Amelia had left behind, the soundtrack to Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The movie wasn't age appropriate but it was pretty great for dancing and Hunter wouldn't understand the inappropriateness of some of the lyrics.

We danced and ran around until we were both breathless, and Hunter seemed to be flagging. We both got ready for bed, and settled into his bed. By the time Hunter's eyes were slipping shut, the unicorn had left her forest and been trapped by Mommy Fortuna.

I kissed him on the head, tucking the blankets around him, switched off the light and went to the living room. Sitting on the couch, I thought for a few minutes before I reopened the book and continued reading. I read all the way to the end, thinking about immortals, love and regret.

I wonder briefly what Eric would think of this book, if he would simply think it stupid, some insipid fairy tale humans tell to amuse themselves, or if he could see the beauty in it. I sometimes thought of the time he'd been cursed and stayed with me as a bit like the unicorn's time as a human. Did he regret it? Did I? Had it changed him at all, had it changed me?

Certainly, before he'd stayed with me I had trusted Eric, probably more than I should have. Just a few weeks before, in Jackson, we'd gotten into a physical situation that probably would have gone further if we hadn't been interrupted. Maybe that's why I found it so easy to fall into bed with memory-less Eric. At the time, I didn't know he was going to forget everything that happened between us during those few days once the curse was broken. I had sex with him, knowing he would probably regain his memories and know all about it. Was it just too hard to give in to Eric in that way for me then? Did I sleep with him while he was cursed as an out? Had it been cruel to sleep with him when I knew all the history between us and he didn't? I don't think it had been cruel to Eric. He did get what he wanted, anyway. Maybe I was cruel to myself, to give myself a view of an Eric that played by my rules, that was under my control. Maybe I'd been cruel to amnesia Eric.

What about here and now Eric? How did he feel about the time he'd spent with me? What did he think about the way I'd acted around him when he was cursed, and after the curse was broken? He said he respected me, and my honesty. Did he think I respected him, his existence? What did he think of my desire to remain human, weak, mortal? Was it offensive to him that the thought of being a vampire was so repulsive to me that I would rather die than become like him?

I pushed my thoughts aside and snapped the book closed, before putting myself to bed. I resolved that tomorrow, fewer of my thoughts would be about Eric Northman, and what he thought of me.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Pretty sure this is my longest chapter yet. If you're appreciating the more frequent updates, let me know. In case anyone is interested, I wrote this while listening to the Dar Williams/Richard Shindell/Lucy Kaplansky album Cry Cry Cry. It's an album of covers and it's beautiful My favorite song on the album is Cold Missouri waters. Go give it a listen. If you like folk music you won't regret it! www. youtube. com/watch?v=KgQNeGPJdcQ&feature=related

* * *

By eleven the next morning, I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I'd spoken to Remy, who would be picking up Hunter in ten days. We'd had a long chat about telepathy in general and Hunter in specific. Remy was going to stay with me for a night before he left with Hunter, so we could work out some ways for them to practice together. He seemed happier that we were trying to "fix" the problem. I just shook my head, explaining that we weren't fixing Hunter, we were just helping him practice his control. Remy didn't really see the difference, but we were working at it. I agreed to go to Red Ditch a few times, and for him and Hunter to come see me over the next few months. I told him I'd be there when Hunter needed me. Remy was even fine about the proposed sleepover with Jason.

I talked to Sam and arranged that I'd be starting back at work in fifteen days, part time the first week and then back up to my normal hours the week after that. I figured I would need a few days after Hunter left to rest and decompress. The kid wore me out, plus he brought up a lot from my own childhood, emotionally draining as it was.

Jason and I confirmed that I was dropping Hunter at his house at 10:30 on Saturday and that he was fine to sleep there. Jason even sounded like he meant it. I might have sweetened the deal with a promise of bringing biscuits and sausage gravy when I dropped Hunter, but all's fair with family. I may have even hinted at the possibility of pie.

I'd even called Tara to chit chat for a little bit. She was fine, getting more and more pregnant, and happy. Hunter was out playing with Beau and Don, which was giving me all this time to make phone calls. I still had one more call to make, and I'd left it till last for a reason.

When Amelia left, she'd promised to keep in touch, and we'd exchanged a few texts, but I figured we should actually have a conversation. I dialed her number quickly, before I could chicken out.

The phone rang four times, and I prepared to leave a message, but I was slightly shocked when Amelia actually picked up. "Hey telepath." She sounded tired, but I didn't think she sounded sad, which was a plus.

I forced a smile. "Hey witch. How's the Big Easy?"

"It's okay. I'm settling in, my dad's in my business in a serious way. He wants me to get more involved in his company, I need to get back into my coven here. We're trying to get along. Oh, Octavia told me to say hello next time I talked to you, so hello from Octavia."

I smiled. She hadn't been the easiest to live with, but Octavia was a good woman when all things were equal. "Say hi right back. How's she doing? All settled in with her man?" I couldn't believe it had just been a few weeks since Octavia had moved out.

"Yeah, they're still getting their place fixed up, which keeps her occupied on things other than getting me in front of the council" I winced. That was one of Amelia's biggest fears about returning to New Orleans. It was actually the only reason I had encouraged her to leave. She needed to own up to what she'd done to Bob, accept her punishment and move past it. She couldn't hide in the sticks forever.

"Has she set a date yet?"

Amelia sighed. "Not that she's told me. There's a council meeting Monday, so I'm staying out of her way until Tuesday." She laughed. "How's Bon Temps?"

I blew all the air out of my lungs before taking another big breath. "Still here. I'm going to be back at work in a couple weeks. I told you Hunter is staying here, right?" She made a positive noise. "He's really great. He'll be here another ten days. I'm really enjoying getting to know him. Even Jason's managed to pull his head out where Hunter is concerned. They're going fishing tomorrow."

Amelia let out a low whistle. "That's unexpected. I hope he keeps that up."

I nodded. "You and me both, hun."

There was silence for a minute before Amelia thought of something to say. "How are the vamps doing?"

I shrugged before replying. "Uh, pretty good I guess. Eric's a bit stressed. We went on a date the other night."

I could tell I'd actually stunned Amelia. "You did _what_?"

I laughed. "We went on a date. It was nice, actually. We went to this café/ bar in Shreveport. They had live music, and we chatted. It was good, casual."

"How was the sex?" Ah, there was the blunt Amelia I knew and loved.

"There hasn't been that much, with having Hunter around. When we've managed it's been good."

She laughed. "You guys never could keep things quiet. How's Pam?"

I twiddled with my hair for a bit before responding. "She's okay, I think. You should give her a call tonight." I sighed softly. "So, how have you been? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm doing better. The change of scenery really helped. I'm sorry I left like that, but I really needed to just, you know, be on my own."

"I know. Trust me, I get it. You're getting better though, right?"

"Yeah, I'm getting through it. I wasn't in love with Trey, but we were having such a good time. I liked him a lot, and we were getting to be friends. I've never had a friend die before." Amelia was silent for a moment. "So, Stackhouse, you better stay alive for the foreseeable future, because I wore my one black dress already and I just do not have the energy for shopping at the moment!"

We both laughed, a little shakily. If she was laughing, she'd be alright. At that point, Hunter came tearing into the house, asking if he could have a sandwich. "Okay, witch, I better go. This child wants to eat me out of house and home!"

Amelia laughed. "Okay, telepath. Don't let him run you too ragged! I'll call you Tuesday, if I make it that far unscathed."

"Good luck!" I clicked the phone down and felt relieved. When Amelia left, I'd been worried that I really was going to lose someone who'd become a good friend in the time we lived together. I ran my hands over my face, mentally giving myself a shove. "Okay, kiddo, lunch time!" My cheeriness was forced, but only slightly so. Children had a way of keeping gloominess at bay.

After lunch, where even I managed to eat half a sandwich, I decided Hunter needed to work some more on shielding. It was a sunny day, pretty warm for the tail end of January, so I figured people would actually be walking around outside. I got him in the car, let Beau and Don know our plans and the two of us, with Don following behind, set off for the park in Clarice.

Hunter and I got settled, with Don a moderate distance away, at a picnic table in the sun. I pulled out the deck of cards I'd stuffed in my purse and started shuffling. I figured I could teach Hunter a simple card game while we practiced so that we weren't just staring at each other in silence. I dealt the cards and started teaching him the basics of go fish. After about ten minutes we could play, slowly, so I decided it was time to start trying to keep the people wandering by out of his head.

_Take my hand, Hunter._ We'd learned, over the past few days, that touching enhanced our gift, similarly to how it had when I'd done it with Barry in Rhodes. I wasn't going to put any shields up in this situation, since that made it a bit too easy for him, and since he couldn't keep it up when we weren't touching. _Do you see that lady over there?_ He nodded. I'd indicated a woman with a small child, about a year old. She was feeding the baby some food out of a jar. _Focus on her._ Her thoughts came flooding into our minds.

_Is Ryan going to be late again? God, I hope he's not having an affair. He can't leave me, we've got Isabelle now. Such a beautiful girl. Wish she was sleeping regularly, maybe if she was we could get our sex life back on track and I wouldn't be convinced he was having an affair. I really need to lose the last of this baby weight._

I sighed. Always, people had to be thinking about sex. At least she wasn't being graphic about it. _Focus, Hunter. Push her away. Picture her a thousand miles away, so far away there's no chance you can hear her._ The thoughts got slightly quieter, dulling to a buzz. _Focus, Hunter._ They dulled slightly more, becoming almost silent. After a minute, Hunter shook his head slightly and I dropped his hand. "Kiddo, that was awesome. You did really good. Now go fish." I grinned at him as he picked up a card. He had done really well.

For two hours, we alternated between playing at cards and blocking out one person at a time. By the end of our session, he could, when focusing, block out three separate minds at once. Of course, if he didn't focus, it all came rushing back and he wasn't yet at the point where he could even have a conversation while shielding, but it was better than nothing. I was confident that I was at least leaving the young telepath in a better situation than I'd found him.

Hunter was working on blocking a group of men standing under a tree smoking and chatting. As soon as I started listening to their thoughts I slammed Hunter's earmuffs in place, before rummaging in their brains as best I could. Hunter look a bit puzzled, but I waved him away. This was important.

A few minutes later, I was hustling Hunter into the Don's car as fast as I could. I could barely think. I needed to get him home, and then I would deal with this situation. How was I going to deal with this situation? I didn't need this. I needed peace, and quiet, and time to spend with my cousin's child.

"Aunt Sookie, why was that man thinking about bombs?" Hunter's voice pulled me back to the present, and I turned to look at Don, who was certainly taking notice.

For a few seconds, I simply focused on my breathing. After a final deep breath, I was ready to answer him. "Remember how we talked about the Fellowship of the Sun, kiddo?" He nodded. "Well, they sometimes do very bad things, and those men are planning on doing something bad."

He got a small crease between his eyebrows as he frowned. "What are we going to do to stop them?"

I shook my head slightly. "Hunter, I am going to take care of it. You are going to go home and Don and Beau will watch you, okay?"

"I wanna help! I can help, we've been practicing and I'm getting better. I can help!"

"Not this time, Hunter." Jesus, what was I going to do? _Think, Sookie, think!_

Don forced me back to the present. "Sookie, what the hell, excuse my language, what the heck is going on?"

"Did you notice that group of guys smoking?"

He shrugged. "Sure, of course I noticed them. What of it?"

"Fellowship. Something big is going down tonight. You better tell your pack. I'm going to try to find out more and make a couple calls. It's going to be all over. Kind of like a Kristallnacht for supes. Take Hunter home, I'm going to make a few calls and see if I can hear anything else." I was also probably going to end up visiting an inmate in the parish jail, but I would have to see.

Don frowned. "I don't like leaving you alone here, Sookie. I'm going to call Beau and get him to pick up Hunter."

"You call whomever you please, Don, but you better get Hunter the heck away from here, _now._ I'm going back to listen some more. Do not follow me, got it?" He nodded and I started dialing my cell phone as I walked back towards where Hunter and I had been sitting.

The first person I called was Alcide. "Sookie?" He picked up on the second ring. "Is every thing okay? How have you been?"

I felt like pulling out my hair. We didn't have time for this. "Alcide, something big is going down tonight with the Fellowship of the Sun. They're planning on setting off bombs all over the state. Do you have a way of getting in touch with other pack leaders?"

As soon as I mention the Fellowship, I could tell I had Alcide's full attention. "Of course, can you give me anything else to go on?"

I focused back to what I had seen in those men's minds. "Well, there are a few targets in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Were and vamp owned businesses, anything known as such. In Shreveport, as far as I could tell, Fangtasia is probably going to get hit, along with the Harley dealership and that shifter bar that used to belong to Amanda." Amanda had died during the Were War, along with several other members of the Shreveport pack. "Those were the only specific locations I picked up, there might be more. They've stocked up on small bombs and have been making Molotov cocktails."

"Do you know the names of the people you picked this up from?" Of course Alcide figured out how I knew this.

"I'm going to try to find out."

"Where are you? Are Beau and Don with you?" Did everyone know about the protection Eric had arranged? Was I not trusted to walk out my front door these days?

"I'm in Clarice, in the park, and I'm on my own for the moment, but one of them will be here soon. Look, I need to call Eric's day guy, then I'll call you back if I pick up more specifics."

I could hear Alcide moving papers around. "Any time frame?"

"After dark. I don't know anything more specific."

"Fine. I'll start making calls."

"Can you call Calvin?" I didn't have time to give him and Sam an update, and I wanted to call Sam.

"Will do. Thanks for this, Sook. We're always in your debt."

As soon as I ended the call I dialed Bobby Burnham. He picked up after four rings. "Yes Miss Stackhouse? How can I help you? You must know I'm very busy." Even the man's voice annoyed me, but I pushed through it.

"Well, be prepared to get even busier. Something is going down with the Fellowship tonight. From what I've gathered, they're targeting businesses owned by supernaturals all over the state, possibly more than just Louisiana. I know Fangtasia in specific is being targeted, but anything openly known to be owned by vamps or Weres is fair game."

Thankfully, Bobby was suddenly all business. At least he wasn't a total idiot, he just hated me. "I have contact info for all of the area vampire's day people, plus some for Area One and Three. I'll start making calls. Contact me if you learn anything else." The line went dead.

"You're welcome, Bobby." Sheesh, the man was an ass. I wanted to scream, but instead I dialed Sam.

"Merlotte's Bar and Grill, Sam speaking."

"Sam, it's Sookie, something's going down tonight--"

He cut me off. "Hey Sook, yeah Alcide just called. I got calls of my own to make. Let me know if you learn anything, okay cher?"

"Sure thing, just turn your cell on, okay?"

"Sure thing."

I hung up with Sam and sat down at the picnic table I'd shared with Hunter. The men were still talking and smoking. I started typing what I heard from their minds into a text message. _Parties of_ _four, Molotov cocktails, small bombs, starting two hours after sundown, across La, mainly in cities, other states later in the week. This group: Marlin Jessops, Ernie Williams, Brian Taylor, James (Jimmy) Anderson. Targeting Weres in Monroe. Flower shop, Italian restaurant, pool hall. Three other "cells" in Monroe. Two targeting vamp business, one more for Weres. Hit and run._ I sent it to Bobby, Eric, Pam, Alcide, Calvin, Don and Sam.

I listened, digging as deep as I could. _These guys going to meet at Applebees on I-20. Going there after to celebrate as well. Shreveport: 8 cells, 5 for vamps 3 for weres. Names: Billy Miles, David Santos. Places: Fangtasia, Harley dealership, Hair of the Dog. Probably more. That's all these guys know. Will keep trying._

I moved to a closer table, keeping my back to the men. I needed to hear what they were actually saying. I couldn't get anything else. They were just talking about making sure their pickups were gassed up and that they had all the "supplies". They were annoyed they hadn't been assigned the local supes since they didn't really want to drive all the way to Monroe and back. God, these people disgusted me. I was going to have to make a visit I was not looking forward to. I sent a quick text to Don and Beau to let them know where I was going. The last thing I needed was an angry vampire on my ass for losing my guards at sundown.

On my way to Bon Temps, I phoned Amelia, not really caring that I shouldn't be talking and driving. I got her voicemail, which I was slightly happy about. I didn't have time to have a conversation about this. It was already 4:30. I'd spent an extra hour sitting on that park bench and I really hadn't gotten anything useful. "Hey, 'meals. Look, the Fellowship is up to some serious shit tonight, two hours after sunset. I've done my best to beat the message drums, but if you could do your best in the New Orleans, I'd appreciate it. Supe owned and operated businesses are being targeted, in the Fellowship version of Kristallnacht. Please watch out for yourself tonight, okay? Bye."

I pulled into the police office parking lot. The office also housed the small jail, which held Arlene Fowler until she faced trial. Her boyfriend, Whit, was in a federal prison, since he'd shot an FBI agent. I took a deep breath and steeled my will before walking in. Andy greeted me slightly suspiciously. "Andy, hey, I really need to talk to Arlene, if it's possible."

Now he looked downright mistrustful. "What's going on, Sookie?"

"Look, I heard something, and I need to talk to her about it."

Andy at least believed in what I could do, even if he didn't like me at all. "Fine, but I'm sitting in on this little 'chat' and if Arlene says you need to go, you do."

He led me to one of a few small cells in the back of the police station. Arlene was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. Andy knocked on the bars to get her attention before he opened the door for me to enter. I didn't know if I actually wanted to sit in the same room as her, but since he didn't seem to be giving me an option I walked into her cell.

I sat down on one end of the narrow bed, while Andy lounged against the cell door. "Hey, Arlene." She didn't say a word to me, just stared at her hands. "How are Coby and Lisa?"

"They're with Helen Ellis. She brings them to see me a few times a week." She sighed before finally looking at me.

"They coping alright?" I'd always liked Arlene's kids, even if she and I weren't on great terms.

"They'll be alright. They'll probably go stay with my aunt after the trial." Arlene's aunt was in Clarice, and she'd always been good to the kids. I nodded. "What do you want, Sookie?"

Arlene looked resigned, and tired. "What's going on tonight, Arlene? Don't even bother asking me what I'm talking about, because I know you know." She did. It had been at the front of her mind since she'd heard my voice.

"Just some honest citizens trying to take back their state from the devil. Stay home, stay out of it."

Now Andy looked positively gleeful. He always loved the prospect of arresting people. "What's going on ladies?"

I sighed. "You know that church, the Fellowship of the Sun?" He nodded. "Well, they're taking a page from the Klan's playbook. They're targeting businesses owned by Weres, shifters and vamps, Molotov cocktails, bombs, that kind of thing. We might even get to see a few burning crosses come nightfall, right, Arlene?"

She glared at me. "Why even bother asking if you're just going to take things straight from my mind?"

"Don't you dare sass me, Arlene Fowler. I never did a bad thing by you. I was your friend, I helped you take care of your kids, I cleaned your trailer more times than I can count. You repay me by trying to trick me into getting crucified by your boyfriend. You tried to get me killed, don't even dare give me attitude." I was angry now, mainly because Arlene didn't know much more than those men in Clarice. She knew two out of the four who were going to go to Merlotte's, and a few other places in Clarice and Hotshot. She didn't know who would be replacing Whit, who was in jail, or Donny, who had been shot dead by Agent Lattesta. I got up in disgust, brushing by Andy to find a pen and piece of paper from the front desk. I wrote down the two names and handed them to Andy, who'd been hot on my tail. "They're meeting at the Grab it Kwik about an hour after dark. They'll have Molotovs in the back of the pickup. That's all she knew for sure. They should have two other people with them, but I don't know who. These guys will be heading for Merlotte's, and some other places owned by shifters in the parish. Can I tell Sam that you'll take care of them?"

I could hear from his brain that he didn't particularly care for Weres or shifters in general, but he liked Sam. This was his town and he didn't want to see its people terrorized. "Yeah, I'll get Kevin and Kenya and Bud and we'll pick these guys up. Thanks for the tip." He said it kind of begrudgingly, but at least he said it.

I nodded to him and walked out to my car. Beau was lounging against his truck, so I waved to him before I climbed into my car. I called Sam and let him know what was going on with Andy and to pass the word to Hotshot, then drove back to my house, tears running down my face.

I was barely even out of the car before Hunter was flying off the front porch and barreling into me. He was crying too, and seeing his tears made mine even worse. He was confused and tired and worried because he didn't know what was going to happen to me if I tried to stop the bad men with the bombs.

I picked him up and hugged him to me as hard as I could. I could feel the wetness of his tears against my neck, feel him shaking, as I carried him into the house. I just rubbed his back gently, kissed his dark hair and popped him down in a kitchen chair. Don and Beau had followed us in and were standing in the kitchen doorway silently. I sighed, brushing the moisture from my cheeks in irritation. "Well? Sit down, I'll make you guys some food. There's beef stew or some chicken casserole. I'll heat up both and you can just take what you want."

I put coffee on, threw some of the par baked rolls into the oven, poured myself a very large glass of white wine and put leftovers into the microwave. "Do either of you need a drink as much as I do? I've got some wine, and there's gin, but I don't have any tonic. I've got orange juice. There's a bit of bourbon too. Sorry about the selection. I don't drink much."

The two guys exchanged a look and Don shrugged. "We'd both appreciate a bourbon, if that's alright."

I nodded. "Straight up or on the rocks?" They both wanted the drinks with ice, so I fixed those and got Hunter some orange juice then sat at the table. I reached out and stroked his small hand. "You okay, kiddo?" He shook his head slightly, so I opened my arms. He slid around the table and into my lap. "You were such a big help, today, Hunter." I was having trouble here. Hunter was so smart for his age that I frequently forgot just how young he was, and how a child his age would react to the very disturbing visuals we got before I shut him down. "If it weren't for you, those bad men wouldn't have been caught. The police are going to take care of it." I was glad I had Hunter wrapped in earmuffs, because Beau was pretty certain that the police would not be the first to get their hands on these Fellowship goons. I gave him a very dirty look before taking a long sip of my wine. It was already nearly six and getting pretty dark out. I figured the vamps would get in touch once they had things under control on their end. I hoped they could get it under control. I hadn't really found that much to go on. "So, did you guys touch base with your people?"

Beau nodded. "The pack in Baton Rouge is on alert, and they've touched base with the local blood suckers. You've got a favor banked with them." I nodded, not really caring about favors. I just hoped no one got seriously hurt tonight. When the rolls were done and the food hot, I put Hunter back in his seat and distributed plates and food, taking a roll and a bit of stew for myself. Beau and Don helped themselves to coffee. I sighed, dipping pieces of bread into the broth before putting them into my mouth. After a couple bites of bread and a piece of meat, I was done. Hunter, too, was pretty much just pushing his food around. At least the Weres had a good appetite. They polished off the rest of the leftovers without complaint.

"Kiddo, take a few more bites, then I'll read to you for a while, okay?" The look he gave me nearly broke my heart. "Two bites, then we'll get in pajamas and read The Last Unicorn, yeah?" He dutifully took two more bites of stew, even adding a bite of bread before pushing his plate away. I put the plate straight in the fridge, figuring he could eat it later if he got hungry. I looked to the two Weres. "Are you guys heading out?"

They exchanged a glance. Beau spoke up. "We're going to stay here tonight, if you don't mind, Sookie." I sighed.

"It's fine. There's room upstairs to sleep, and if one of you would run to the supermarket and get some tonic water and a few limes, I would really appreciate it. I feel like I'm going to need a couple stiff drinks in me tonight."

Don gave me a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I'll run over there. Anything else you need?"

I picked up Hunter to carry him to the living room, managing to get him balanced on my hip so I could grab my wine. "If you want anything more than a quick sandwich or popcorn to eat, grab that. I've only got vanilla ice cream, so maybe something like vanilla heath bar crunch, and some whipping cream." My purse was on the counter, so I put down my wine and reached in to grab twenty bucks.

Don fended me off. "Don't worry about it. Tonic, limes, ice cream, cream. I'll be back in half an hour or so." He picked up his keys and was out the door. I picked up my wine and hauled the surprisingly heavy almost-five-year-old into his bed room.

"Okay, kiddo. PJs, brush your teeth and meet me in the living room. I need to change too."

I put on my yoga pants and a very soft long sleeve t-shirt. Since the Weres were going to be around, I elected to keep my bra on. When I got to the living room, Hunter was tucked into a corner of the couch, hugging his knees. I sighed. "Hunter, I know you're upset. Let's talk about it okay?" Both of the Weres had figured out that he was a telepath too, since Don heard the two of us when I was getting Hunter into Don's car, and he'd told Beau. I figured it didn't really matter at the moment.

"I don't want those men to hurt you." His sniffling almost tore my heart in two.

I hugged him to me before responding. "Honey, we're fine. The police are going to get those men and Don and Beau are here to protect us, just in case."

"Why did you go back to listen more if you knew they hate people who are different and want them to die? What if they figured out that you were different?"

Hunter had a point. I did tend to rush in without thinking things like that through. I was slightly surprised they hadn't noticed me, and was thankful they'd been so absorbed in their planning. "I needed to go back so I could get more information to give the police, and Eric and Pam. Those men could have hurt people I care about very badly, and I didn't want that to happen." I thought for a minute. I'd always appreciated it when adults were honest with me, and tried to do the same with Hunter. "It's easier for me to take the risk of getting hurt than be certain that people I love are going to be hurt because I didn't do anything to stop it."

He wiped his face on my shirt, but I didn't have it in me to care. "So going back was a good thing to do?"

I had to approach that one carefully. "It was alright for me to go back because I was pretty sure it was safe. If I had thought they would have hurt me in public, I would have waited for Beau. Just in case I was wrong, I didn't want you to come. I love you kiddo, and I don't know what I would do if someone hurt you." I had an idea of what I would do, and it wasn't pretty. I didn't like to think myself a violent person, but if anyone went after Hunter, I would do my best to kill them.

He nodded to himself and we settled down on the couch together. Beau turned on the news, keeping the volume low, and I read to Hunter. The Unicorn and Schmendrick had escaped the carnival, Schmendrick had embarrassed Jack Jingly and been captured by the time Don got back. I made myself a gin and tonic, made some whipped cream and put together a bowl of ice cream for Hunter. I didn't even press him to eat more of his dinner. He ate his ice cream, and we got further into the book, getting past Hagsgate and the unicorn's transformation, all the through to Lír becoming a hero for Amathea before Hunter finally passed out. It was about ten, well past his normal bedtime, but I figured I'd let it slide. He'd had a really hard day and so had I.

I picked him up and got him into his bed, though I had the sneaking suspicion he'd wind up in mine eventually. I settled back on the couch and turned up the volume on the news. So far it didn't seem too bad. There were reports of police apprehending members of hate groups around the state, a few Molotovs being set off, but other than that it was quiet so far.

I needed to get in touch with my vamps, if only to find out if I needed to head over there and talk to people. If I didn't have to I was going to have at least one more very stiff drink. I grabbed my phone from the kitchen and fired off a quick text to Eric. _Did everything go alright? Do you need me or can I proceed to get very drunk?_

A minute later the house phone rang. It was Eric. "Hello lover. I hear you've had a very busy day."

I sighed. "You guys are okay?"

"We're fine. Two humans came in with small explosive devices, and someone tried to throw a flaming bottle of gasoline at the building. Pamela was most put out, since she was manning the door."

I gasped. "Is she alright? Did she get burned?" Fire was especially dangerous to vampires.

Eric laughed. "Pam, come talk to Sookie. She's worried about you!"

I could hear Eric passing over the phone. "Ah, my telepathic friend!" Pam sounded positively jolly, which was terrifying. "You missed an interesting evening."

I shook my head. "Pam, Eric said you were at the door when someone through a Molotov. Are you okay?"

She laughed. "Ah yes. The men were most surprised when I caught it and threw it back at them. They all jumped out of the truck, since it lit all the other ones on fire. It was quite amusing. Felicia and I apprehended them. Of course, that idiot Burnham had informed the police of the threat so we couldn't drain the pond scum. We were forced to hand them over to the authorities." She sounded like she was pouting. "Would you like to speak to Eric again?"

I sank into a chair. "Sure, pass him over."

"Hello my lover. So, tell me about how all of this came about." I gave him a run through of my day since Hunter and I had first heard the fanatics. It took about ten minutes, though I felt like it should have taken much longer. It had feltlike years as I was living it. "I'm glad you thought to call Bobby. He managed to get in touch with at least one day person from each area. Since none of us could be roused, he chose to inform the authorities. Pam is less than pleased. She thinks I should drain him and find a new day man. Was he at least courteous to you?"

I took a moment before replying. Just because I hated the man, I didn't want to see him drained. "He was fine, Eric."

Eric seemed to draw his own conclusions from my reply. "Hmmm. Well, thank you for the warning. Things could have gone very differently had we not been aware of the threat."

I rubbed my temples. "You don't need me to come and interrogate anyone, then?"

He laughed. "You are free to get as drunk as you'd like. No molesting the Weres."

I harrumphed. "Then you better not get all post battle blood-lusty with some fang-banger!"

I could practically feel his grin. "Oh-ho, lover, I thought you didn't care what I did." He laughed again and I ignored him, setting about loudly making a gin and tonic. "Sometimes the trouble you attract is wonderfully amusing. I will have to have a chat with Bobby about going to the police. He should know better." Eric lapsed into silence for a few seconds. "So, lover, were you still thinking about coming to Shreveport tomorrow evening?"

"I'm going to have to talk to Jason in the morning and double check everything, especially after tonight, but probably." I sighed happily, really enjoying the first sip of my drink. "So, you guys are really alright? Did many businesses in Shreveport get targeted?"

"Only about ten, and everyone had been warned. Damages were minimal. Is your boy doing alright?"

I laughed. "You can call him, Hunter, you know?" I shrugged and sighed. "He's upset. He only just finally passed out and I got him to bed. I'm pretty sure he'll climb in with me as soon as I go to sleep. I read to him for about three hours and he still hadn't calmed down completely."

"What did you read him?"

"The Last Unicorn. It's a really good book. We're not done with it yet, but I've read it many times before."

"What's it about?"

I took a few sips of my drink. How to explain this book to Eric? It's about an immortal falling in love… Yeah, not so much. "Well, it's about a unicorn who goes looking for her people. They've been gathered up by the red bull for King Haggard. She meets up with Schmendrick the Magician, and Molly Grue along the way. When they finally get to Haggard's kingdom, the bull nearly conquers the unicorn, but Schmendrick manages to turn her into a human. Of course, he can't change her back because he has no control over where the magic takes him. They call her Amalthea, and she is able to enter Haggard's castle. She starts forgetting herself, starts becoming a human woman. The king's son, Lír, falls in love with her and makes himself into a hero to try to win her love. The unicorn can't love, but Amalthea can, and as she forgets herself, Amalthea begins to love Lír. Of course, they eventually find the way down to the bull's lair, Schmendrick gains control over his magic and is able to turn her back, she faces the bull and is nearly vanquished. Lír tries to defend her and is killed, which spurs her to defeat the bull and thus free the other unicorns. She heals Lír and leaves, and she is only unicorn that has ever learned love or regret. It sounds stupid when I explain it, but it's really beautifully written." I wandered out to the living room, picked up the book and waved at the Weres before going back to the kitchen. I flipped through it for a minute, trying to find a good line to read him. "Here, listen, this is unicorn, just after she's been changed: _'My people are gone, and I will follow them soon, whatever shape you trap me in. But I would have chosen any other__than this for my prison. A rhinoceros is as ugly as a human being, and it too is going to die, but at least it never thinks that it is beautiful.'_ Anyway, it's really beautifully written."

Eric was silent on his end of the line. Finally he responded. "It sounds like a very sad book, my lover. Perhaps I can borrow it from you."

I made a noise, neither yes nor no. "So you guys are really fine? I can stop worrying?"

He laughed. "Yes dear one, stop worrying. Feel free to drink as much as you want. It seems such a shame, though, as I have never seen you drunk."

I smiled slightly. "I haven't been really drunk in a coon's age. It does funny things to my telepathy, and I lose all control over my shields. I really don't like drinking in bars because of that. I'll probably just finish this gin and tonic and go to bed. Good night, Eric. Say bye to Pam for me."

"I will. Rest well, lover." I dropped the book onto the counter and went back to the living room. I made small talk with Don and Beau, finished my drink and made my way through another before making my slightly unsteady way to bed. Hunter was already in my bed, so I got ready in the bathroom before getting into bed with him. He hugged me in his sleep, sighing, and I found myself falling asleep faster than I thought possible.

* * *

**A/N:** So, do you want the next chapter or me to do my laundry? You tell me.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** This chapter took much longer to behave itself than expected, so I apologize for the delay. I kind of like where it ended up, but really nearly wound up deleting the thing and starting over. Let me know if it works.

I'm still trying to get back to my normal self, and my injuries from a few weeks ago are bugging me, so that might have affected the tone of this chapter. Pro tip: whitewater kayaking can get you killed, or at least severely battered and stranded halfway down a waterfall for several hours. Sternums also take a long time to heal and hurt in very odd ways.

I know Sookie is a bit bitchy in this chapter, but she is in the books as well. Her life is never going to be perfect, and she tends to push away people who want to help her. Don't worry, she doesn't get herself into too much trouble.

* * *

I stretched out on the lawn chair, feeling several of my joints crack, and sighed. It felt good to just be lying in the sun, enjoying the warmth. It certainly wasn't bikini weather yet, and regardless of all the blood and fairy healing, it would be a couple years before the remaining scars had faded enough for me to risk exposing them to the sun. The warmth felt good on my face though.

It had been a busy morning. Hunter had woken me up at 7:30, and since I had a lot to do, I didn't complain too bitterly. I let Hunter watch cartoons while I set about making things with which to bribe my brother. I couldn't start with the breakfast, since biscuits and gravy wasn't something you reheated, so first order of business was an apple pie. I decided to make two, since the Weres were eyeing me with a bit too much interest. I felt bad dangling pie under their noses and whisking it off to Jason's. So, I got the pastry made and chilled, peeled and sliced apples, then mixed those with sugar, spices and some lemon juice. By that point the crusts were chilled enough, so I got those rolled out, assembled the pies and got them in the oven.

Since the boys would be fishing for most of the daylight hours, I figured I would assemble them a lunch box. I fried a mess of bacon and made a bunch of BLTs. Those got wrapped and put in a cooler with two oranges, two apples and orange juice.

At this point it was just about nine and the phone started ringing. It just didn't stop. Representatives from packs all over the state, even some pack leaders, were calling to say thank you and let me know that if I was ever in their area and needed a favor, to just ask. I felt like crying. I was happy no one had gotten seriously injured, but I really hadn't wanted to draw attention to myself. Hopefully my name had stayed out of it on the vamp end of things. All I needed was to become better known in the vampire community.

Eventually I just had Beau take the calls. He made me speak to a couple pack leaders, but other than that he just took messages.

I was finally able to whip together the biscuits and make the gravy. I left some for the Weres and packed the rest up along with the other food to bring to Jason's. Don came with me to drop Hunter, which was accomplished without incident. Jason looked positively gleeful to see me drop off not only his favorite breakfast, but sandwiches and pie. He was happy to see Hunter too.

By the time we got back, the phone calls had pretty much stopped. Don and Beau ate some breakfast, I joined them for a biscuit and some coffee, then sat for a few minutes before managing to throw in a load of laundry. At that point I looked around my house, mentally tallied all the cleaning I needed to do and thought _screw it_. I took a nap instead. Sundays were better for housekeeping anyway. If I was going to be keeping vampire hours tonight, which I was really, not so secretly hoping I would, the nap would serve me better than a freshly vacuumed living room.

So here I was, several hours later, lying on a lawn chair wrapped up in a blanket. It felt like heaven, just to actually feel like I could be still for a little while and not feel like the world was about to be torn apart. I felt a few tears slip down my cheek and sighed. I wondered how long it would be before I could get through a day without crying. I brushed the tears away and headed back into the house.

I changed the laundry on the way in, switching the wet clothes into the dryer and throwing on a new load, and folded my blanket, dropping it onto the couch. Don and Beau had been in and out, evidenced by the rapidly disappearing pie on my kitchen counter. I heated myself some coffee and wandered into my bedroom. It would be dark in about an hour. I sent Eric a quick text to let him know I'd be coming by, and to see what time would be alright. I was currently planning on turning up at Fangtasia about nine. It was nearly an hour's drive for me, so I had about three hours to kill.

I got through my shower, shaving, scrubbing and exfoliating myself to within an inch of my life. Taking so much time cleaning my body really forced me to look at the damage that had been done to it. I still had a small scar from the staking in Jackson, and one from being shot. Evidence of my torture traced fine lines all over me, the worst of it on my upper thighs, breasts and belly. Most were faint, like a spider's web laid over my skin, but the ones from the deepest wounds were still readily evident. I sighed, rinsed off my conditioning mask and got out of the shower. I wondered if there would ever be a day that I wouldn't see my scars, no matter how faint they became. I sighed, dried my hair until it was damp and left it hanging down my back to air dry as I moisturized.

Once I was as soft and smooth as I could make myself, I went out into my room still wrapped in a towel. I had to make myself go through dresses as possible outfits. The lower parts of my legs really weren't too badly cut up. I flipped through items in my closet, brushing my fingers over the possibilities.

About half an hour later, I'd narrowed things down a bit. I knew I didn't want to wear pants. I really felt the need to feel feminine and sexy, which just screamed dress. Tara had given me a deep red wrap dress, with three-quarter length sleeves for Christmas, and I was really tempted by that. Amelia had also left me a couple dresses when she moved out. One was blue, with cap sleeves, ending just above the knee and the other was purple, strapless, with a pretty tie at the waist. I tried all three on, and just fell more in love with the red dress. It covered a lot of the scarring on my arms, and on my boobs for that matter, so I didn't feel terribly uncomfortable in it. I put the others away and pulled out a pair of low heeled black shoes, with round toes and little strap detailing.

Since I'd finished the external wardrobe choices, I got started on me. I plucked my eyebrows, moisturized my face and threw on a little bit of makeup. I didn't use much, just a quick coat of powder, some eyeliner and mascara. I went over my now dried hair with a curling iron, defining a few sections of curl.

I looked at my alarm clock by my bed. It was already after seven. I wanted to get going in an hour. I idly poked my way through my underwear drawer, hoping to find inspiration. I was also trying to remember what Eric had and hadn't seen before, because, let's face it, I was hoping to introduce him to something new in the Sookie Stackhouse underwear line up tonight. After trying on several bras with the dress, I settled on a lacy black demi paired with a cute lacy black thong. I looked at the completed picture I presented, and I felt good. I loved being dressed up from the skin out. I grabbed the black wrap I had from Jackson and a small black purse and headed out to the kitchen.

I quickly switched my essentials (keys, wallet, phone) into the evening purse, noticing that Eric had replied to my text from a few hours before. _Soon, please._ I typed out a quick response._ Leaving Bon Temps soon._ I threw an apple in small purse, before smearing two rice cakes with peanut butter and jelly. There was still coffee in the pot so I reheated it, poured myself a mug and sat down to eat. Fifteen minutes later, after brushing my teeth and giving myself a quick once over, I called out to Don and Beau, who were watching tv in the living room, that I was leaving and I was sure they had better things to do on their Saturday night.

I pulled into the parking lot at Fangtasia at 8:45. The line wrapped around the building, but Pam was at the door, and she waved to me as I walked up. "Ah, Sookie! Finally. Eric is being insufferable tonight. I know it isn't difficult for you, but if you could try and antagonize him especially for me, I would take it as a personal favor."

I laughed. "I always do my best, Pam."

She gave me a quick look and flashed me a bit of fang. "The dress is lovely. And is that the wrap the Were gave you? Oh, Sookie, you know just how to lift my spirits."

I shook my head and walked past her. Even though the bar was packed, I could see Eric sitting in his corner booth, typing away on a laptop. Felicia nodded to me when I walked up to the bar. She seemed less wary of me than she normally did. I nodded back. She fixed me a gin and tonic, passed it to me and waved my money away. I said a quick thank you and moments later, I was sliding into Eric's booth. I leaned over to brush a kiss on his cheek, and he smiled, showing me the very tips of his fangs.

"Lover, you look absolutely delicious." He pulled my wrap off, throwing it onto the other bench. "That's better."

I laughed at the jealous vampire. "So, I hope things are a bit more sedate tonight?"

He actually sighed and looked disappointed. "It wasn't that exciting last night, since my idiot of a day man decided to inform the police. I was really looking forward to the evening when I got your messages." He shrugged and ran his hands through his hair. I actually heard sighs, and that was above the music. I reinforced my shields. "Oh, I talked to Victor. His day man was less of an idiot, well day woman I suppose. They've captured a few of these Fellowship fools. He's going to have them brought up tomorrow night, if you could talk to them. What with the high profile, he doesn't want to resort to more… traditional methods if he doesn't have to. He told me to tell you they haven't been damaged, well, not excessively, anyway. Apparently your reputation precedes you." That earned me a grin.

Now I sighed. "Why doesn't he just glamour the information out of them?"

Eric brushed a strand of hair out of my face. I managed not to sigh. Just. "It isn't the best way of procuring information. We have to know what questions to ask. You can see into their minds, which helps to direct your questioning. It is more thorough."

I frowned, and tried not to pout .I didn't think I was succeeding. "What time do I need to be here? I don't want anyone brought to my house. The less they know about me, the better."

Eric's fingers traced a line down my shoulder. "Just after first dark?"

God, this made me grumpy. I'd managed to relax until just a moment ago. "I'll see if I can get Jason to watch Hunter. And I am expecting payment of some kind."

Eric laughed. "Of course, dear one. I will arrange it with Victor." He leaned his face into the side of neck, breathing deeply. "You smell wonderful, as always, lover. Is that a new perfume?"

I shrugged. I so did not want to have anything to do with Victor Madden or the Fellowship. I hated Eric for trying to change the subject. "Moisturizer. Amelia got it for me for Christmas. It's from some Greek homeopathic pharmacy or something."

Now his hand was tracing its way down my back. "It is nice. Not too heavy. I can still smell you underneath it. What's it called?"

I pushed him away. "I can't remember the brand, but the scent is wild rose. It's on my face and my body. Would you knock it off with the pda already."

Eric grabbed the hand that had pushed him and kissed my palm. "Pda, lover?"

I tried to snatch my hand away, but he held onto it. Stupid vampire strength. "Public display of affection. Eric, I am not some fang-banger you can screw in your office. Take it down a notch." He actually let me go, looking offended. I let out a breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Do I need to worry about Victor?"

At my apology, he laced his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. "Victor is no cause for concern. Filipe is even pleased. His investment in keeping you alive has already paid dividends. You many have used up the official protection, but he sees the benefit in keeping you alive."

I looked at Eric in confusion. "It was a one time deal?"

He gave me a bemused smile. "Of course. Do you think a vampire would protect a human forever for saving his life once?" He smiled. "Next time you need help, just ask me. My offer to protect you will not expire." He glanced at the time on his laptop. "Can you manage without me for a time? I need to get onto a conference call. Given yesterday's events, the other sheriffs may go on for some time." I nodded, getting up to let him past. His lips ghosted softly over mine. "Oh, and lover, I will display my _affection,_" God, his voice just dripped sex, "However I like. Get used to it." His arms went around my waist and he kissed me again. It wasn't some obscene kiss, and was actually pretty 'public-friendly', but it still made my knees go weak. Eric knew exactly how to push my buttons.

Pam came over just as I was finishing off my gin and tonic, and slid into the booth opposite me. The discarded wrap was tossed into my lap. "Put it back on. Just for me. I'm sure you're a little cold." I sighed, but put the wrap on again. I was a little cold. I wasn't feeling vindictive.

"So," a waitress dropped a new gin and tonic for me and a blood for Pam, waved away my attempt to tip her and vanished. I took a sip and sighed. "Did you teach Bobby a lesson?"

Pam grinned at me. "I am still trying to come up with something appropriate. Eric apparently explained the error of his ways to him, but Eric can be far too lenient with breathers."

I didn't take the opportunity to remind her that I was in fact breathing out of necessity, not choice. I didn't want to give her any ideas. "He's a pain in the ass."

Pam gave me a sideways glance, and I could practically see the thoughts percolating through her head. I could also practically hear them and reinforced my shields further. "Was he rude to you?"

I snorted. "Pam, that is the basic state of any interaction Bobby Burnham has with me. Don't tell Eric, though. I just want to deal with the guy as infrequently as possible."

Pam looked gleeful. "Oh, Sookie, this is perfect. I won't tell Eric, for now anyway, but I am going to tell Bobby that I might. Why does he hate you so much, anyway?"

I shrugged. "He doesn't like that I'm 'irreverent' with you guys. Apparently I should bow and scrape more, and give in to Eric's every whim. He thinks I'm white trash. He hates that you like me and hate him. He hates me because he has to be nice to me. The list goes on."

Pam laughed. "Oh, Sookie, I am going to have so much fun with this. You always know how to liven up a dull evening."

"Well, Pam, I do it all for you." I smiled. "So you're all really okay after yesterday?"

"Of course. It is good that you managed to warn us. The bombs would have gotten messy." Pam examined her nails, before pushing a fang-banger who had approached her away with her foot, barely bothering to look at the man. "Even though Bobby is an annoying little weasel, he does have his uses. I would rather put up with him than be indebted to Weres, which would be the other option."

"So, Pam, not that it isn't highly amusing, but why is it exactly that you want me to antagonize Eric?"

She smiled. "Well, you can't allow him to be too complacent. It amuses me when you frustrate him. I do not doubt that you will continue to do so, but I will do my best to help. Of course, if you both start being idiotic again, I will not hesitate to point it out."

I laughed, then frowned. "Look, Pam, I appreciate a bit of fun as much as the next girl, but you need to stay out of the whole me and Eric thing. I just want to give us a chance, see where things go."

Pam looked positively gleeful. "I am aware, Sookie. My master has explained the situation to me. I am enjoying watching him be patient. It is something he does so very rarely, at least where women are concerned. I also enjoy seeing him happy. I hope you are aware that if you hurt him, I will drain you."

I knew Pam wasn't kidding, but the thought that _I_ could hurt _Eric_ was so ludicrous that I could help but laugh. "Trust me Pam, I'm sure he'll walk away from this completely fine."

I didn't like the look she gave me. "You know he read that book."

"What book?"

"The unicorn book, that you are reading to your cousin's son."

Now I was stumped. "Why did he do that? It's a kids book, a fairy tale."

Pam was looking slightly exasperated, which was never a good thing. "He read it because he knew you loved the book, but that it made you sad. He made me read it too."

"Jeez, when did you guys have time? I only mentioned it in passing last night."

"He had Bobby pick up a copy, and read it when he woke. I read it before you got here. It's an entertaining book, and I can see you drawing all kinds of parallels in that little head of yours, but you need to stop it. I can see you thinking of the human unicorn as Eric under the curse, and you need to stop."

I gave her a quizzical look. "Honestly, Pam, I don't know how you come up with these things. I've liked that book much longer than I've known about vampires, and I'm pretty sure the author didn't have you guys in mind when he wrote about immortal creatures. You're not exactly the embodiment of all that is good."

She frowned at me. "Yes, well, Sookie you had best not presume to tell me what things I can and cannot feel. I have regrets, and perhaps, one day, I shall have love as well, if I find someone worthy of it. Do not presume too much, telepath. Just because you can see humans so well does not mean you truly see us."

I think I saw them a lot more clearly than she gave me credit for. I knew they weren't good, or evil, and that they were a lot more human than they liked to believe. "At least I try to see you as individuals, Pam. That's more than pretty much anyone in this place."

Pam looked at me then, really looked at me. I think, for a moment, she got me, but then she moved on. "Yes, well, there is that. What do these mindless drones think?"

I lowered my shields, slowly, not wanting so many people's thoughts to just flood my mind. I took a minute to process what I could hear. "Well, it's mostly what you would think. The fang-bangers want to be bitten, to feel needed. Their need to be needed is the important thing. Sure they want to sleep with you guys, but mainly to prove to themselves that you need them. They want to be wanted by something beautiful, to matter. The tourists are afraid, but enjoying it. They feel like they're doing something dangerous, while knowing they're safe. I would feel bad for the fang-bangers, but they chose this life, and I make it a point not to feel too bad for people who hate me."

Pam took a moment to study the crowd. "They must feel jealous of all the attention you receive. Do their thoughts bother you?"

I shrugged. "I try to ignore them. Especially if they start thinking too specifically." I gave her my 'crazy Sookie' grin. I should patent the damn thing. "Oh, hey, it looks like Eric's done with his conference call." I gave him a wave as he walked over. He slid into the both next to me, giving me a gentle kiss hello.

Pam leaned over to me and pulled the shawl, which had fallen down to rest on my elbows, up around my shoulders. "You know, Eric, I really think we should adjust the heating. The humans are a bit cold."

Eric grimaced, pulling the wrap off me. He replaced it with his arm. "I'm sure I can keep Sookie warm."

I was starting to get exasperated. A piece of fabric was making him jealous? "Pam, there will be plenty of time to torment Eric about me when I'm dead. How about laying off for now?"

They both looked at me as if they'd been slapped. Okay, that might have been a little tactless on my part. Pam took it upon herself to defuse the situation. "Well, Eric, looks like you're in for a treat. Someone is certainly about to start her period."

"Pam!" I actually threw a straw at her, and I think I blushed to the roots of my hair. I'd been rude, but it didn't help that she was right. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. It was rude and I apologize. I've just been on edge since yesterday." I leaned into Eric, for once welcoming the comfort of the bond. I looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean that, and I shouldn't take my bad mood out on someone else. I'm trying really hard to shield, and it's making me cranky and irritated." The thing Pam had mentioned didn't help.

He kissed my hair and pulled me even closer to him. Pam broke in again. "So, anything interesting going on elsewhere?"

Eric shrugged slightly and ran his hand up and down my arm. "Everyone is dealing with the fallout from yesterday. No major damage to report. Areas 1 and 4 each caught a few conspirators who did not get turned over to the police."

I put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Eric, can I use your office to call Jason before it gets too late? I want to ask if he can watch Hunter tomorrow night."

Eric nodded, and I fled. I needed a few minutes to be less of a bitch, and to make a phone call. Surprisingly, Jason was happy to take Hunter. He just told me he'd drop him off Monday morning before he started work, and to enjoy having a day to myself tomorrow. They'd had a great day fishing, and he wanted to spend some time getting to know his 'nephew'. He did point out that Hunter and I 'seemed to be so alike', so I figured he knew about the telepathy thing. I told him thank you, and to get Hunter to bed, since I could hear him in the background. He told me to have a good night, coming as close to winking over the phone as was humanly possible and I told him to keep his mind out of the gutter, especially around Hunter. He gave me a quick 'yes ma'am and we said goodnight.

I sighed, trying to get myself together. Why was I feeling so out of sorts? It wasn't just pms. I'd been feeling alright, actually pretty happy before I'd gotten here. I'd been on edge, still worried about the fallout from yesterday, but happy. Eric had sprung the whole captured Fellowship people on me, and I guess I hadn't calmed down since. I tried, for a moment to really feel Eric through the bond. He was agitated and tense. Maybe some of that was bleeding through to me. I sighed and reached out to open the door, but jumped when it opened before I touched it.

Eric was standing there, looking uncomfortable. "Pamela tells me I must apologize, even if I do not know what I am apologizing for. I apologize."

I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. "You don't need to apologize, Eric. I said something really rude and I was embarrassed. I'm on edge, and I don't think it's all coming from me. Why are you feeling like this? It's affecting me, too."

Eric gently brushed his fingers through my hair. "I have been tense tonight. I am sorry if that caused you to feel uneasy. If possible, I would like to just move on from it. It isn't anything to worry about."

His attitude bothered me, but I tried to be the bigger person. "Sure, Eric. We'll drop it for now. Oh, Jason is just going to keep Hunter until Monday morning, so I'm fine to be here for just after dark."

Eric's fingers found my chin and directed my face until I was looking him in the eyes. "Stay with me tonight. We can come here tomorrow together."

I gave him a long look, considering. I didn't need to be in Bon Temps in the morning for Hunter. I needed to be back in Shreveport by around six. I was planning on having a late night with Eric anyway, and I'd planned on convincing him to come home with me, which would have meant an early morning trip back to Shreveport for him. What made me nervous about going to his home? I knew where Bill lived, and I'd been to Pam's house. I didn't need to see exactly where he spent his days. I certainly had never found out that information about Bill, and I'd been to his house plenty of times. Of course, staying at Bill's until dawn had been easier, since I could just head back to mine once I woke up. Eric wanted me to spend the day. He returned my look, patient, but clearly waiting for my response. "Sure, so long as I can borrow something to sleep in. I'll have to wear this again tomorrow."

If I didn't think it was impossible, I would have said Eric looked shocked. He shook his head slightly. "Well, lover, lets go sit in the bar for a bit longer. I will drive, and you can leave your car here."

He led me back to our booth, where Pam was sipping a True Blood. There was one for Eric as well, almost full, and a fresh gin and tonic for me. He settled in the booth, pulling me after him. I picked up my drink, taking a slow sip. Not having to drive was nice, I could have another drink. Pam and Eric chatted business for a while and I zoned out, listening to the thoughts of the crowd. I didn't particularly enjoy listening to horny fang-bangers fantasize about my boyfriend-God, that was an odd term for Eric- or Pam, or the two of them, or all three of us, but it was preferable to listening to Eric and Pam go on about invoices and hours. At one point, I snorted, and both vampires swung around to look at me.

Eric arched an eyebrow at me. "Sorry. Someone is having a pretty graphic fantasy, involving me and Pam, and I know bending my legs like would just not happen"

Pam reached across the table to stroke my hand. "So many things are possible if you try, Sookie."

Eric showed her his fangs in a way that just screamed 'mine' and I laughed. "Sorry Pam. Amelia has first dibs if I ever decide to give girls a try."

Pam frowned. "That it not fair, Sookie. I have known you longer. I am also much more sexually experienced than Amelia. If you want to explore women, you should come to me."

I shook my head. "Well, Pam, I'll keep that in mind if I ever get interested." I started sipping my fourth gin and tonic. I was glad that they were small and pretty weak, but it was still going to be my last one. If I drank any more, I was going to lose control over my telepathy completely, which was not fun.

Pam glanced at her nails, then at Eric. "So, Sookie, when are you heading back to the boonies?"

Now I glanced at Eric. He smiled. "I'm staying at Eric's tonight. Jason's going to just keep Hunter for the weekend. He's got keys to my place, so if they need to pick something up they'll just go by."

Pam looked surprised, but she recovered quickly. "Well, if you both want to go, I can handle things here. You are starting to look tired, Sookie." I laughed at Pam's blatant attempt to be Eric's wingman.

"Wow, Pam, I thought you'd have a better handle on subtlety. I'm not going to run for the door while you guys aren't looking."

Pam and Eric exchanged a glance. Eric just shook his head slightly. "Dance with me?"

He was always so good at keeping me distracted. I nodded and allowed him to lead me to the small dance floor. He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned into his chest, enjoying how safe he made me feel, and inhaling the smell of him. There was the dry vampire smell, a touch of cologne and something else that I was just Eric. His leant down slightly, pressing his face into the hair on top of my head. He inhaled deeply, and I sighed, content.

We danced in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of our bodies touching, moving to the music. Eventually, I thought of something to say. "Can we swing by a Walgreens or something on the way to your house? I'm going to need a toothbrush at the very least." Eric nodded against my hair, rubbing his jaw against it. I laughed. "You're like a cat, you know that?"

He spun me around slowly, before dipping me. I laughed and smiled at him as he pulled me back into his arms. "What do you mean?"

"The way you rub against me. It's very cat-like."

"When I was human, my people had a god who rode in a chariot pulled by cats."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Cats?" He nodded. "That's not very intimidating."

He smiled slightly. "Freya did not need to be very intimidating. I do not think that being cat-like is a very bad thing."

Yes, being cat-like would suit Eric just fine, I supposed. "Did you know I had a cat, before I met you?" He shook his head. "She got killed right after my gran, by the same guy. I never wound up getting another cat. Bill hadn't been the hugest fan of Tina, and I wound up in trouble so frequently, and Bubba was around. It didn't seem worth it to put an innocent animal in danger." I sighed. "So what were these cats named, the ones that pulled the chariot?"

Eric spun me again, then kissed me gently. "Bygul and Trjegul. Bee-gold and tree-gold, which are honey and amber. She didn't always travel in her chariot. She also rode a boar, Hildisvini, which means battle swine. She led the valkyries, choosing her half of those killed in battle. Half went to Odin in Valhalla, half went with Freya to Fólkvangr." Eric looked sad for a moment, but it passed. I wondered when he had last thought about the gods he believed in when he'd been human. He shook his head slightly and laughed. "It is traditional to get a new bride a cat or two as wedding presents, to keep her new household free from mice. Perhaps we could get you a kitten?"

"Eric, you need to remember that I don't really think we're married. If I want a kitten, I'll get one myself." He smiled at me, shaking his head slightly.

We both fell silent, continuing to dance. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to remember so much time, to have seen the world change so utterly. I didn't think I had it in me to survive that kind of change. We paused for a moment between two songs, and I stood up on my toes and pulled Eric down to me for a kiss. When I finally dropped down onto my heels, Eric smiled, and all my melancholy seemed to have drained away. "What do you think about taking Pam up on her offer, then, lover?"

It was already about 1, and the bar closed at 2:30 on weekends. I nodded. "Sure, Eric. Take me home."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Two updates in 24 hours? I know, I'm amazing. A couple things before I begin. I forgot to mention that the names for Freya's cats are a modern invention, but I liked them so I decided they could stay.

Also, Avast! Lemons off the port bow! Oh, now I'm thinking about Pirate Eric. That would be fun... It's very late for me, so please excuse any errors and possible rambling. I only read through this once fully before posting it.

* * *

Eric followed me around the 24-hour Walgreens in a way which was only slightly like a lost puppy. I picked up a toothbrush and tooth paste, grabbed a bottle of the face wash I always used, a couple rolls of toilet paper and picked up a small box of tampons, just in case. When Eric asked what they were, I'm sure I turned crimson.

I lowered my voice. "They're tampons," I hissed. He arched an eyebrow at me. How could he be so obtuse? He must have heard of them at some point, or at least seen a commercial. "My period might start tomorrow."

He pushed me up against a nearby shelf, showing me his fully extended fangs as he grinned. "So, my darling, Pamela was correct in her assumption."

I stiffened. "Look, Eric, I know how feisty the thought of blood gets you, but it really doesn't do anything for me. The fact that you are getting all hot and bothered because of my," I dropped my voice again, "Period is really grossing me out. Can we please change the subject?" He nodded. "Thank you. You don't by any chance have a coffee maker, do you?"

He let me go and grinned. "Actually, I do. It's supposed to be a very good one. I bought it while you were recovering and ignoring my calls. I was seriously considering kidnapping you." At least he smiled as he said it. It made it a bit easier to think he was kidding.

Eric even had coffee in his freezer. It was apparently the only food in his house, which told me he knew at least that I actually couldn't live without coffee. I was impressed. I grabbed some milk, cereal and half and half. We were on our way after a few minutes and one small argument about who exactly was paying for my things. Turns out he is not above glamouring a cashier and ignoring my yelling while carrying me out of a store. Who knew?

Eric, of course, thought I was oh so amusing with my attempts to pay for my toiletries and food, and it kept him chuckling for the entire fifteen minute drive. His bringing up the fact that I always supplied my vampire guests with True Blood, even though I had no use for the stuff just made me hunker down in my seat and fume. He laughed even harder when I informed him I would be eating nothing but garlic for a week if he didn't cut out the high-handed bull. He kissed my hand, getting me to smile slightly.

When we got to Eric's house, I was surprised, but not in a bad way. Even knowing what Bill and Pam's houses looked like, I still somehow expected Eric to live in some secluded castle. It was secluded, but also pretty understated. It looked like a typical upper middle class home, though it was on more property than that type of home would normally be. The house was set pretty far back from the road, and you couldn't see any neighboring houses due to the number of trees surrounding the property, including a huge live oak that the driveway wound around.

It was a pretty building, two stories with greenery running up the walls. It might have been wisteria, but I couldn't be sure in the dark. It had a wrap around porch on the ground floor, with a couple of Adirondack chairs and a rocker. There was a two car garage, but Eric just parked in front of the house. I followed him to the front door and inside, waiting while he disarmed the alarm system. He carried my bag of things into the kitchen, flicking on lights as he went, and I followed him. The kitchen was simple, a table with four chairs, an L-shaped counter that ran underneath large windows, a couple of barstools on one side of the L. There was a ceramic stove set into the counter, cabinets in some kind of dark wood and a double oven set into the wall. The fridge was large, stainless steel, with a dispenser for ice and water. I gave Eric a quick smile and kiss on the cheek before taking the bag from him so I could put my milk and half and half in the fridge. The only stuff in the fridge were a couple six packs of True Blood and several bags that looked like the blood you see in hospital shows. I tried not to be too grossed out and just stuck my things in there and closed the door.

"So, do I get the grand tour?" I smiled, slightly uncertain of what to do now.

Eric also looked a bit unsure of what to do with me now that he had me in his home. "Of course, lover. Well, this is the kitchen. I don't do a lot of cooking, but I have a few plates and glasses if you need them. I will show you the coffee maker!" He pulled out a very odd looking contraption. Of course, Eric wouldn't just get me a normal Mr. Coffee.

"Eric, what the hell is that?"

"It is a vacuum coffee pot. It's Danish. There is an instruction video. I watched it, and I can show you how to use it." He actually looked proud of himself.

An instruction video? Was he kidding me? He looked pretty serious. "Sure, let's get this thing set up." Eric got out some ground coffee from the freezer, and instructed me to fill the carafe to the max fill line. He placed something that looked like a piece of lab equipment on top of the now filled carafe, pushing it down until it locked in place. The coffee went into the top bit, and a lid went on that. The whole assembly was put on a base that plugged into the wall. "What time shall I set it for?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Eric. How do I turn it on?"

He pointed at the base. "Well, we can set it to start automatically at a certain time, or you just push the button that says 'start' to start it immediately."

"I'll just start it when I get up. Thanks for setting it up for me. Could I have a glass of water before we go wandering around?"

Eric opened a cabinet above the sink, where I saw a few plates, bowl, mugs and glasses. "I am not a very good host. You are always so good at making your guests feel welcome and cared for. I do not normally have guests, but I will be better next time."

I smiled and shook my head as Eric poured me a glass of water from the fridge dispenser and handed it to me. "You're fine, Eric. Come on, show me your house."

It was a beautiful home, though very masculine. All the rooms were decorated in bold colors, deep reds, blues and greens broken up by white or grey chair rails, and the furniture was full of clean lines and rich woods. He had a home office, a living room with a not terribly ostentatious home theatre system, a beautiful half bathroom. There was a hot tub built into the back porch, and I promised to bring a bathing suit next time so we could take advantage of it.

At this point, Eric seemed to snap out of his self consciousness and come back to himself. His arms snaked around my waist. "Ah, but lover, you really don't need to be so modest." His cool breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine. "A hot tub really is at its best when enjoyed without the encumbrance of clothing." His fangs brushed against my earlobe and I couldn't stop myself from moaning. The next moment, I was on my back on Eric's very large, very deep leather couch. One of his hands was attacking the tie of my dress while the other supported my back. "I want to take you in every room of my house, lover. I want to smell you on every inch of my home."

"Jesus, Eric, shut up and kiss me." I pulled his face to mine, and he acquiesced to my demands. He kissed me softly, slowly, even though I was moaning and begging for more.

I could feel him grinning against my lips. "Don't worry, lover. You can be as loud as you like here. There are no children to wake. I fully intend to take advantage of that situation, don't worry." He finished pulling open my dress, pulling away from me so he could take a good long look at me. "I am going to feast upon you tonight, lover, and I will be taking my time." His fingers traced over the edge of my bra, around my breast and down my side, causing me to shiver in anticipation. "You are perfect." His lips followed the same path as his fingers, tracing their way down my body. When he reached the lacy thong, I could feel him draw in a breath and moan.

His fingers hooked into my underwear and a moment later they'd vanished. Eric placed gentle kisses along my thigh, before using his fingers to spread me open for his enjoyment, and mine. I moaned as he moved his fingers over me lightly, caressing each inch of me, gently, teasingly. My hips rose to meet his hands, trying to will him onwards, but he was having none of it. The soft touch of his lips traveling up my thigh set me on fire. The touch of his tongue on my clit made me scream, I was so tightly wound. He slipped first one than two fingers inside of me.

Eric was taking his time with me, and I could feel how much pleasure he was feeling just from touching me, tasting me. He was teasing me, stroking me with his long fingers, licking my clit, swirling his tongue around it. He kept bringing me right to the edge and backing off, and I felt like I was going to come apart at the seams. If he hadn't been holding my hips down with one of his vary large hands, I would have been thrashing underneath him. I was moaning, crying out, I felt like I was losing my mind.

"Oh, God, Eric," I managed to gasp out, "Please, please…"

Thankfully, the big blond vamp took pity on the little human. He increased his pace slightly, and I could feel the warmth rising in my abdomen. I squeezed my eyes shut as Eric replaced his tongue with the pad of his thumb. He paused for a moment and I almost screamed in frustration rather than pleasure. "Look at me, Sookie. I want to watch you as you come. Look at me."

I managed to pry my eyes open, locking them on his, anchoring myself to him as my world exploded. His fangs sank into my thigh and my orgasm rocked through me. I was screaming and cursing, calling out his name, trying to hold on to some corner of reality as I was ripped apart.

When I came back to myself a few moments later, I struggled to get my breathing under control, tried to have coherent thoughts. "Ugh, oh Eric…" I paused for a moment to gather myself. I twitched as Eric pulled his fingers out of me and scooped me up. I didn't know where he was taking me, and I just didn't care. I certainly wasn't walking anywhere on my own.

Eric put me down on the kitchen counter, and I was glad we'd never gotten my dress completely off, since it gave me a bit of insulation from the cold granite. He handed me a glass of water and grinned. I took a long sip before I pulled him close to me and leaned my forehead against his. "Wow, Eric… just wow. Bill once told me sex with you was unforgettable, but he did not know the half of it."

Eric couldn't have looked more shocked if I'd sprouted horns. "_Bill_ said that? To _you_? When was this?"

I thought back for a moment. "That night I first came into your bar. I was asking questions about the girls from Bon Temps who wound up dead, if you remember."

Eric laughed, leaning into me and rubbing my back. He pulled me to the edge of the counter, so he could grind his hips into mine. My hands went to the fly of his jeans, and I struggled with the button for a moment before I got it undone. He slipped the sleeves of my dress down my arms, and it pooled at my waist as he slipped his jeans off. I reached around to take off my bra, but he caught my wrist, using his other hand to undo it himself. I pulled his t-shirt off before tangling my hand in his hair and pulling him to me for a kiss. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, felt him growl in response to my aggression. The next thing I knew, my back was being pushed against the fridge, and I shrieked at the sudden cold, catching my lip on Eric's fang. He sucked on the cut greedily, readjusting me so that my legs were looped over his elbows. He placed himself at my entrance, waiting for my nod before he started pushing into me.

He groaned, pausing to let my body adjust to him, sucking on my lip once more. "How do you taste so good? I will never have enough." He continued whispering to me in that language he sometimes lapsed into as he started moving inside me. I gripped his hair tightly, kissing him fiercely, urging him on. I bit his lip, gently, then increased the pressure until I was on the verge of breaking his skin.

He shifted us then, moving a chair from the kitchen table sideways and having me kneel on it, my elbows on the table. As soon as I was stable, he was inside me again, hands on my hips, controlling our movements. One hand reached around me to play with my breasts, teasing first one nipple, then the other.

My breathing was heavy, full of gasps and moans, and I could feel myself approaching the edge again. Eric was moving faster, guiding me against him, and soon I clenched my eyes shut as I felt myself clenching around him. I was screaming, but I was past words, past thought, past anything rational. I heard Eric cry out, felt his fangs enter my shoulder, and I was coming again, too high on pleasure to even breathe.

I just lay there for a few moments, my cheek pressed against the cool table, trying to come back to Earth. I felt Eric detach himself from me, and I sighed at the loss, but couldn't move to do anything about it. I heard the sink running, but couldn't even scrape the energy together to do more than flinch when I felt a warm wet cloth on my inner thigh as Eric cleaned me gently.

Finally, I was able to motivate myself to climb down from the chair. I stood in front of Eric for a minute, taking in his beautiful body, naked as a jay, before I leaned into him and just hugged him. He kissed my hair before pulling away slightly. "Well, lover, shall we finish the tour?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Sure Eric. Lead the way."

He led me upstairs, neither of us bothering to find our clothing. One of the upstairs bedrooms looked like a page out of a Laura Ashley catalogue, and I gave Eric a look. "Pam's room?"

He nodded. "She doesn't stay here very often, but I like for her to have a place she is comfortable. The windows are made of the same material as in vampire safe hotels." I nodded, slightly wary. I really didn't want to know exactly where Eric slept.

"Eric, I really don't want to know exactly where you spend your days."

He looked a bit confused. "You've known where I've slept on numerous occasions, dear one, and I've never come to harm."

I gave him a dirty look. "I'm serious, Eric. Where ever your hidey-hole is, I do not want to know!"

Eric laughed, and shook his head. "I sleep in my bed, lover. I would like you to sleep in it with me." He studied my face for a minute. "Why is this so shocking to you? You and Bill were together for some time."

I rubbed my temples for a second. "I never slept with Bill during the day." Eric actually looked shocked. "Even when we shared a hotel room in Dallas, he slept in his coffin."

Eric shook his head slightly. "I hate to say this Sookie, but why did you stay with him so long if he never trusted you?" I flinched as if he'd slapped me. He reached out and brushed his fingers through my hair. "I am sorry. I do not mean to be callous. I just can't really understand it."

I shrugged slightly. "He was my first boyfriend. You knew that, right?"

Eric nodded, slightly. "You mentioned that, on the way back from Jackson. I wasn't sure I believed you."

"Well, he was. He was also the first vampire I ever met. I don't think you really understand what my telepathy did to my dating life. The farthest I'd gone with anyone before Bill was kissing. It is the height of awkwardness to be on a date and hear exactly how the guy wants to have his way with you, or that your top makes you look a bit fat, but he'd still 'do you', or that having sex with you would almost be as good as having sex with your brother…" I trailed off, then gestured to show I was brushing it all away. "Anyway, I could physically touch Bill and not be forced inside his head. Of course I got attached to that feeling." I shrugged. "Can we talk about something other than my ex?"

Eric smiled, then dragged me down the hall. "If you insist on sleeping elsewhere, there is a guest room." He opened a door to show me, before closing it and pulling me down the hall. "However, I would like you to sleep in my bed." He led me into his room, frowning at me when I laughed. "I was not expecting company."

One thing I'd noticed about Eric when he'd stayed with me was he was messy. He always assumed the floor was one giant hamper. It seemed he was the same at home. About a week's worth of clothing was strewn across the floor, along with several towels. His bed was huge, but unmade, and there was a laundry basket with clean clothes on his dresser. It looked like the clothes had been folded and subsequently pawed through. I just shook my head. "Somehow I assumed you would have a maid."

"I don't let people in my house. Pam is the only person besides you to come in here. She comes by once a week and helps me clean." The last sentence was said pretty quietly, but I still managed to catch it. I cracked up.

He scowled at me while I collected myself. "Well, I'll fold the clean stuff, you put it away, then we'll put a load of laundry on and change your sheets." He looked slightly relieved that I was taking charge. I guess cleaning really was not his strength.

I quickly refolded his shirts and jeans and he threw them into drawers, then we threw the discarded clothing into the laundry basket. I threw several empty bottles of True Blood into the trash. He helped me strip down the bed, and we carried the linens and clothing downstairs. Eric showed me the laundry room, and I made him put a load on, even though he grumbled. "Eric, how old are you? Even my brother Jason has learned to do his own laundry. I can't believe Pam has to come by once a week to make sure you'll have clean clothes. I'm never going to let her live it down."

We got the bed made, or at least we got most of the way there. I was buttoning up the duvet cover when my vamp started feeling a bit playful, and the next thing I knew, I got smacked straight in the face with a pillow. Soon, I was losing a battle against the Viking, as he'd sunk to simply tickling me. I was shrieking with laughter, tears running down my face, as I tried to fight him off. He just kept laughing, fending me off easily. Suddenly he was kissing me, and I remembered we were both completely naked, something I'd inexplicably managed to forget. His hands were all over me, but this time we were more playful, less urgent. We kissed, breaking apart to laugh and smile. I made a half hearted attempt at escape, earning me a gentle smack on my rump as Eric grabbed my ankle and dragged me back to him, laughing and struggling.

My climax snuck up on me. He was inside of me, both of us laughing as he made faces at me, and suddenly I was spilling over that golden edge, taking Eric with me just as suddenly. He only just managed to bite into my breast before he came. We lay together for a few minutes, running our hands over each other, needing to just reach out and touch one another, until we were interrupted by my stomach growling. Eric slung me over his shoulder, and I shrieked, giving his bottom, which was pretty prominent in my vision the way he was carrying me, a good smack.

He returned the favor, but didn't put me down until we were in the kitchen. "You, dear one, are going to eat something. What did you get at the store? How do we prepare it?"

"Grab the milk out of the fridge. No, the milk, not half and half." I got out a bowl and poured some cereal in it, followed by a generous pour of milk. "You do have cutlery somewhere, right? I need a spoon." He passed me one and we sat down at the table so I could have my snack. "Eric, you really don't need to watch me eat every bite."

"You are eating enough, aren't you? I shouldn't take your blood if you're not eating well."

I sighed. "I'm eating enough. Don't worry about me." I finished off the cereal before any more awkward questions could be asked. I washed my bowl and spoon and dragged Eric back to the laundry room. We put another load on before he picked me up and carried me back upstairs. He gave me one of his t-shirts to sleep in, and he tucked me in next to him before turning on the TV.

I sighed and snuggled contentedly into his chest. "You trust me?" I couldn't help but sound slightly incredulous.

His response was direct, to the point. "Yes."

I shook my head. "Eric, that's just crazy."

He laughed slightly. "You know we had a very similar conversation when we were going to that orgy you brought me to, though our roles were reversed."

I thought back and smiled. "I don't know why, Eric, but somehow I've always felt like you would keep me safe."

Eric's arm tightened around me. "At least I have empirical proof that you will do your best to keep me safe. There was Rhodes, and now I remember being cursed." His thumb moved up and down my arm. "Why did you come find me in Rhodes? You should have just gotten yourself to safety."

I shook my head slightly. Why had I gone back for him? "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't try to get you out. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been able to wake up a bit. I wouldn't have been able to leave you guys. I probably should have thought the whole thing through a bit better." I grinned ruefully.

Eric's hand slipped under my, well, his shirt to rest on my belly. "The slapping wasn't very fun. I really didn't enjoy seeing the sun, either. I'm quite happy to do without that for the foreseeable future. Your whole 'get out of the exploding building' plan left something to be desired, especially as we were on the ninth floor. Flying when I could barely stay awake was less than ideal."

I punched his arm lightly. "It seemed like the best option at the time. I don't remember you coming up with any suggestions." I sighed. "I should have figured out what was going on earlier. There was just so much other stuff going on…" I yawned. "You're sure it's alright for me to sleep here? Because I am just about to tap out for the evening."

Eric nuzzled into my hair. "Mmhmm. It's only about an hour until dawn. I'll lock up before then and turn the lights off. The hallway is light tight, so just make sure you close the bedroom door if you leave. The bathroom is there," He pointed and I glanced lazily in the direction he indicated. The doors and windows are alarmed, so if you could stay inside that would be easier. I'll keep the motion sensors off so you can move around."

I yawned again and nodded. "Hey, Eric?"

"Yes, my lover?"

"Thanks for putting up with me." His arms wrapped even more tightly around me, and I sighed contentedly before closing my eyes. I drifted off listening to Eric whisper in that old language into my hair.

* * *

**A/N:** As an aside, the coffee maker I'm talking about is the electric Bodum Santos. They're not making it anymore, which is a tragedy. It's the only thing I wold save (besides my lovely partner, though to be fair he's a foot taller and has already proved himself very adept at saving my ass) if the house was burning down.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey, sorry this took so long. This chapter was killer! I bitch about that at the end, but feel free to ignore me. Also, anyone want to be my beta? I will be whiny and demanding and will discuss these books in detail to the point where you won't want to be friends with me. Sound appealing?

Also, what with fanfiction alerts being broken, you might have missed chapter nine. If you did, go check it out. It was fun to write. Unlike this chapter.

* * *

I didn't wake up until my bladder was telling me rather insistently that I needed to. The room was dark, but Eric had left the bathroom light on, which I could see around the edges of the closed door.

Eric had died for the day with his arms wrapped around me and his leg hitched over mine. His face was buried into my neck and one hand was gripping a fistful of the shirt I was wearing. I tried to edge out from under him, but he was _heavy_. I poked him in the shoulder, hard.

"Eric!" The only response I got was his arms tightening around me. "Eric, you have to let me go. I need to get up."

He whispered, "Mine," in my ear before snuggling into me.

Now I was getting exasperated. I punched him in the arm. "Eric! Let me go. I need to go to the bathroom."

He shifted slightly, not yet relinquishing me. "You'll come back?" His voice was quiet, and heavy with sleep.

I laughed, softly, and assured him I would, which finally got him to let me up. I sighed with relief as soon as my butt hit the seat. I took a moment to look around. Eric's bathroom was gorgeous, with a huge shower stall as well as a sunken tub big enough for at least two. Thankfully, Eric had left my bag of toiletries, which included the toilet paper, on the counter. Need number one taken care of, I brushed my teeth and washed my face, two things I'd neglected to do in my state of post coital bliss. My purse was on the counter too, so I got out my phone to check the time. It was already quarter to three. I was amazed at how late I'd slept, but I guess sleeping in a pitch black room will do that to you.

I quickly read a text from Jason: _hope u enjoyed ur night ;_ _)_. Rather then replying, since I hated text speak, I opted for giving him a call. We chatted for a minute before he said he had to go as he was taking Hunter to a movie in Monroe. I told him to behave and to say hi to Hunter.

Eric was much more willing to let me back into bed than he had to let me out, especially after I tripped over an armchair after foolishly turning off the bathroom light. He actually sat up at the noise and pulled me into bed, not that I could see what was going on. "Come back to sleep, my lover." He kissed the side of my neck and pulled me close again before he was pulled back under. Wrapped in his arms, I soon followed.

When I woke up, Eric was kissing my neck, his hand gently teasing my nipple. I sighed and leaned into him, feeling his erection against me. "Don't we need to get up?"

He shook his head against my neck. "Sunset is in an hour. We've got some time, and you've managed to wake me." His fingers brushed down to my thigh. "I find I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping the day away with you."

I stretched and rolled over, smiling when his lips found mine in the darkness. We kissed for a few minutes, before I groaned and tried to push him away. "Eric, I need to get in the shower. Don't we need to leave right after sunset?"

He pulled me back into him. "We can be a little late." His cool mouth found my ear lobe, grazing it with his fangs.

"Eric!" I tried, and failed, to not let his name come out as a moan. He laughed slightly, before sliding my t-shirt off and finding my lips again. His kisses were impossible to resist. And I found myself simply returning his passion rather than thinking about how late we were going to be.

I pushed Eric's shoulder, getting him to lie on his back, before swinging myself on top of him. He sighed happily as I slid him into me, and I groaned. "Jesus, Eric, how do you feel so good?" He laughed, stopping abruptly as I started moving on top of him, opting to grunt softly instead.

I rearranged my legs, so that I was basically crouching, perching above him on my toes. The tone of his voice said that he was cursing softly, but I couldn't understand the words coming from his mouth. It was incredibly sexy. His hands made their way to my hips, guiding my movements, but I would have none of it. I wanted to take control. I lifted one of his hands to my lips, kissing his palm before biting down gently on his finger tip, slowly increasing the pressure of my teeth as I increased the speed of my hips.

His hands reached into my hair, tangling his fingers in it, before he pulled my face to his, practically bruising my lips with his kiss. Before I even knew what was going on, he flipped us over so that he was on top. I could taste the slightly metallic, almost sweet tang of his blood, just a few drops on my tongue. I bit down on his lip slightly, not breaking the skin, and he growled. He was moving in me quickly now, and the feel of him was pushing me to the edge. Within minutes I heard myself murmuring, "So close," and then crying out as he bit into my breast just as I clenched down on him. A second later, he was kissing me as he climaxed, tasting of my coppery blood. Somehow that managed to be sexy, not disgusting, so I didn't worry about it.

With a contented noise, he pulled out of me, lowering his head to lick lazily at the bite mark. "Join me in the shower, lover?"

I smacked his arm playfully, but got up to join him after he turned on the bedside lamp. Eric's shower was amazing. It had one of those monsoon heads, making it feel like you were showering in a hot rainstorm, but it was huge, with both of us easily fitting under the cascade. He did actually hurry me along when I tried to linger, causing me to make a face at him. "You're the one who doesn't want to be late. I'd be more than happy to stay here for a couple of hours and relive some very pleasant memories of another shower we shared." My breath hitched and he flashed me a bit of fang. "You know, one day we should discuss all those memories I recovered." I made a face at him and rinsed, before jumping out of the shower and grabbing a towel. He laughed before rinsing himself and turning off the shower. "That made you run. Pass me a towel lover."

I stuck my tongue out at him, not really caring if I was being childish, and passed him a towel, before going back to the bedroom and turning on the overhead lights. "Hey, Eric," I asked as he walked out toweling his hair, "Is it alright if I go downstairs? I need to find my dress."

"You could probably fit into a pair of my jeans, if you prefer."

I laughed. "They'd be about a year too long. I'd also need to borrow a shirt, and the last time I borrowed a shirt of yours, I wore it as a dress."

Eric frowned as he rubbed the towel through his hair. I tried not to focus on the fact that he was completely bare. "When did you borrow my shirt to wear in public?"

I smiled. So, the vampire didn't have completely perfect recall. Good to know. "After the maenad attacked me."

He looked a bit distant for a moment before he dropped his towel on the floor and dragged a pair of jeans out of his dresser. "That was a button down. My t-shirts aren't that long." He sighed, seemingly lost in thought. "That was the first time I tasted your blood. Even with the poison, I knew there was something different about you."

"Seriously, Eric, hang up your towels. It's really not that hard." I picked it up, hanging it over the bathroom door before I frowned for a moment. "Did you know I was part fairy?"

He shook his head. "No. I might have picked up on it if I'd had your blood when I wasn't cursed, but I'm not sure. There is more to it than just fae."

Great, the chance of yet more crazy relatives out there. I sighed. "Niall didn't think my telepathy came from the fairy side of the family. He said it was all me, anyway, and that he couldn't take it away." I changed the subject before Eric could grill me on that. "Okay, I'm going downstairs. I'm going to eat something and make coffee, so will you just meet me downstairs when you can?"

He nodded. "Of course. The sun will set shortly." He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and I slipped out of the bedroom. The first order of business when I got down stairs was to start the space age coffee maker, and then I wandered around trying to find my clothes. My bra and dress were both in the kitchen. I couldn't find my panties anywhere, which was irritating, solely for the fact that they were floating around Eric's house somewhere. I didn't have an issue with re-wearing a dress and bra, but I did draw the line at underwear.

By the time the coffee was finished, I'd found my shoes and was dressed. I managed to get the machine apart without killing myself, even finding the bit of the base that folded out to form a stand for the top. I sighed at the first sip. I had to give Eric some credit. It did make a very good cup of coffee. As I started working on my second cup I cleaned out the top part of the machine, since I didn't want Eric to have to deal with my dishes once I left. Finally I sat down with a bowl of cereal.

By the time I'd finished it and decided that a third cup of coffee was completely appropriate and not a bad idea at all, Eric came downstairs holding a hairbrush that had a few ties wrapped around the handle. He started brushing my hair without saying anything.

I glanced up at him before he forced me to straighten my head. "What are you doing?"

"I'm braiding your hair. Hush. You said you liked mine in Jackson." It took him a surprisingly short amount of time to work his way through my thick mane of hair. I enjoyed the brushing the most. There's something about having your hair brushed that is just completely relaxing and soothing. Even the braiding felt good, aside from a few moments when he pulled my hair a bit too vigorously. I finished my coffee at about the same moment as he finished with my hair.

"I'm just going to brush my teeth before we go, okay?" I looked at him sideways. "You don't by any chance know where my panties wound up? I can't find them. I hadn't planned on wearing them, but I would prefer to find them, rather than leaving them for Pam to find when she comes over to make you clean your house."

Eric gave me a lopsided grin and a quick kiss. "I'll have a look. I can put them in the wash here for you."

"Eric, I don't want to be a bother. I've got laundry to do when I get home anyway."

"Consider it returning the favor. You washed my clothes when I was cursed, and you helped me with laundry last night. Plus this way, you can have a pair here in case you decide to stay at the spur of the moment again." He nodded, cementing the course of action in his mind.

Once I'd brushed my teeth, I popped the toothbrush and paste in the Walgreens bag, along with the face wash and tampons. Eric frowned when I walked downstairs with the bag. "Lover, you can leave a few things here."

I shrugged. "I don't want to clutter up your life with my crap."

Eric's hands gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "I like having your 'crap', as you so eloquently put it, in my life, Sookie. I would like to think that someday in the not so distant future you'll stay here again. Leave the things we bought yesterday here. That way next time we won't have to go to the store."

I sighed. After thinking for a moment, I stuffed a tampon in my small purse, just in case, before taking the bag back upstairs. Eric's medicine cabinet was pretty empty, so I found a home for my stuff pretty easily. A few minutes later, we were in Eric's car, heading back to Fangtasia.

Pam was waiting in Eric's office, tapping her foot. She threw up her hands when she saw us. She gave Eric a dirty look. "Finally! I thought I was going to have to go to your house and pry the two of you out of bed." I laughed. It wasn't like Pam to be so agitated.

Eric raised an eyebrow at her. "Have the New Orleans people arrived yet?"

Pam frowned very slightly. "Their plane was delayed. They should be here in half an hour."

Eric smiled. "No harm done then. I'm sure you could have kept them entertained had they arrived before we did. Sookie, would you like anything to drink?" He led me over to the couch, the one I'd laid on while being healed from the maenad attack.

I shrugged, crossing my legs as I sat. "Just a ginner ale, or something." He nodded at Pam, who turned on her heel and walked out. I was shocked. "Seriously, Eric, you don't need to send Pam fetching for me. I have two very capable legs."

I didn't like the way he grinned at me, sliding next to me on the couch. "Oh, your legs are more than capable, dear one. She's being particularly annoying tonight. She occasionally forgets who the child in this relationship is." He pulled me close to him and I relaxed my head into his neck, enjoying the comfort being near to him gave me. When he started kissing me I pulled away.

"Eric, I was serious yesterday when I said we were not having sex in your office. Who's bringing these guys from New Orleans, anyway?" He kept his arms around me, seeming to enjoy the simple comfort of holding me.

"Do you remember Rasul?" I nodded against him. Rasul had been one of the only vampires from Sophie-Anne's regime to survive the Nevada take over, outside of Eric's Area anyway. I'd met him in New Orleans last spring, when he was still working for Sophie Ann, and seen him again at the summit in Rhodes. I liked Rasul. He'd always been nice to me. He'd even helped Eric track me down when the Pelts had kidnapped me. "He's coming up with a couple Weres from the New Orleans pack." He took a deep breath, smelling my hair. "You're like an addiction. Somehow I can never have enough of you." He shook himself slightly, separating us. "This bond affects me in ways I never imagined."

"You and me both, Eric." I gave him a slightly sardonic grin, just as Pam came in carrying a couple of bloods and what looked to be a glass of ginger ale.

Two hours later, I was still sitting in Eric's office, only now I was trying to will away a raging headache. Rasul was eyeing me oddly. "Look, Rasul, you're not helping things. Do you understand how difficult it is to break through glamour? I'm trying really hard here."

The copper skinned vamp shrugged apologetically. "We only wanted them to be docile for the flight."

I snorted. They were docile, alright. They were practically blank slates. Of course, Rasul couldn't undo it, either. That would have been too easy. So I was stuck trying to pick apart the fog was pretty much all that existed in three human brains. I sighed, heavily. I'd actually made some progress in the last half hour, even if it felt otherwise. "Give me another hour and I think I'll have them sorted out. Just remember to do something easy to undo next time, alright?"

Rasul nodded to me before settling back into one of the seats Eric had brought in from the bar. "Pam, can you do me a favor?" She nodded before I continued. "Can you see if any of the waitresses has some kind of pain killer? I'm getting one hell of a headache." She left the office quickly, leaving me with Eric, Rasul and three very loopy humans. I shook myself slightly before getting back to work.

I put my fingertips back on the temples of a man with sandy blond hair and about three days worth of beard. I'd made the most progress with him, but it felt like I was trying to pick out complicated embroidery in the dark while wearing giant rubber gloves. I leaned in close to him, so that our foreheads were touching. Finally it felt like something clicked, like a subtle shifting in his mind and I was in. I felt like jumping up and down and cheering, but settled for a murmured, "Gotcha!" before I started exploring his mind. "Hey Mike. How you doing tonight?" I was quickly working my own brand of hypnosis, getting Mike to relax and open his mind to me. I could feel the vampires watching me with interest. I'd gotten better at this while working with the other telepaths I knew, both Barry in Rhodes and Hunter here. I don't actually think Eric had really ever seen me get inside someone's mind like this. He'd seen me do it when he'd needed to find an embezzler, but it had been the first time I'd really tried it and my efforts had been pretty crude.

I puzzled my way through Mike's mind, quietly asking him questions to steer his thoughts in the directions I wanted them to go. If he started resisting the slight mental shoves I would give him to get him going, I would get him to focus on calming thoughts before moving him again towards what I needed from him. The vampires in the room watched me with interest, but I ignored them. I walked Mike through the planning leading up to that night, who he'd been in contact with, how he'd been chosen to help. Every time I spoke a name or a place, Eric jotted it down When Mike had given me everything he knew, I pulled myself out of his mind while physically pulling myself away from him. I sighed heavily, giving Pam a thankful nod as she handed me a glass of water and some pills. I was past the point of caring what they were, so long as they worked.

"So do you need me to fill in some blanks, or did you follow my questioning okay?" Not all of Mike's answers had been verbal. After getting a look from the three of them I started talking. "Well, Mike here is pretty low rung. Steve Newlin is trying to get things moving again after Rhodes. They're planning things like this wherever the Fellowship has enough members to get the job done. Mike's heard rumors that Alabama is next, but it doesn't get more concrete from him. The names I got are other people that were involved in the planning aspects of the New Orleans side of things, some of them were helping out in other areas of the state as well. The places are weapons caches. That's all he knows. I'm going to try to get into Chris's head next, but I need to sit and just decompress for a minute."

I relaxed back into Eric's couch, closing my eyes. My head was still pounding, and I really needed to give myself a few minutes for the pain killers to kick in. I jumped when I felt fingers brush my head. I opened my eyes to find Eric next to me, and the office empty. He pulled me closer to him and started rubbing my temples. I sighed and relaxed into him. Eventually the pain killers started working and I felt like I could keep my eyes open. Eric was looking at me oddly. Finally I broke down and spoke first. "What is it?"

He frowned before responding. "You're getting better at getting into people's minds." I nodded. Couldn't really argue there. "When did that start?"

I shrugged, thinking back. "I guess when I started taking a more active interest in reading people. Before I met you guys, I tried as hard as I could to stay the hell out of anybody's mind but my own. I figured out I could pretty much hypnotize anybody after helping you figure out about Longshadow. Dallas was an opportunity for more practice, plus with everything going on in Bon Temps, I was getting into people's heads more and more often, usually while trying to keep my brother out of jail. Then there was Rhodes, and Barry and I spent a lot of time locating survivors, which really got me good at getting a fix on minds. Now that I've been working with Hunter, it just seems to come a bit more naturally. Practice makes perfect, I guess."

Eric was silent for a long minute. "Would you consider working for me occasionally? I do not meet with humans all that frequently, so it would only be a night a week, maybe less. Having you simply sit in the bar from time to time and listen could also be helpful."

I frowned slightly. "Look, Eric, I don't want to commit to anything right now. I'll think about it."

He gave me a look, but he dropped it. "Shall I call Rasul back with Chris?" I nodded, and Eric simply raised his voice slightly to summon Rasul, who was through the door a moment later, dragging the disheveled human. Chris had faired the worst of the three as far as bruises were concerned. His face was pretty black and blue, and his left arm was in an air cast, but I figured the vamps had been pretty tame, considering he'd thrown a Molotov cocktail at Victor Madden's residence, and it had come pretty close to getting one of the guards. Vampires did not like fire.

I tried getting into his head again for a moment before snapping at Rasul. "Seriously? 'Be still and do not think'? I mean, come on."

He shrugged. "It should wear off tomorrow." I just glared at him before settling down with Chris, my fingers resting on his temples and my forehead against his. When I finally cracked the glamour, I settled back into my seat, resting my fingers on his wrist. I walked through his head in much the same way I had Mike's, only speaking out loud when I found a new piece of information or needed to give him verbal instructions. Finally I sighed and moved my hand away from his. "So he's also heard the rumors about Alabama. His cousin is involved over there. His name's Greg Matters. Greg says it's going to be Wednesday night. Should be about the same as here. They're planning major raids in Birmingham and Mobile. Rasul, give me fifteen minutes then bring in Brian." Brian was the last one, and I'd had made the least progress with his glamour. I had hopes that I could crack it, though, after getting through the other two. Rasul nodded at me and dragged Chris with him.

Eric's words dragged me out of my thoughts. "You look so troubled."

I didn't even bother to open my eyes, even if the amount of emotion in the words surprised me. "I'm okay. I don't particularly like doing this, even if these guys are criminals." When he didn't respond I looked at him. He was looking at me like I'd grown another head. "What? I'm still human. It's a bit of an ethical dilemma for me to always be siding with supes."

He gave me a very long look before nodding. "Of course. That is not surprising." I could feel that he wasn't saying what he wanted to say, but I let it go. It was a thorny issue and I really didn't want to get into it right now. "I would like to stay with you tonight."

Now I was the one staring at him like he had two heads. "Seriously?"

He frowned at me. "Yes, seriously. You said that your brother is dropping off your cousin's child before he goes to work in the morning. Sunrise is at about seven. I should be down for the day before they arrive. I will awake before it is time for you to put the child to bed. Do you object to this?"

I was pretty freaking startled. "Well, I guess it's fine. The space is a bit cramped for you."

He grimaced slightly before dismissing whatever was going through his head with a wave. "It will suffice. I managed for several days there. I've slept in many worse places. I will be busy this week, and I would like to see you while I have the chance. Fangtasia is closed tomorrow, so I don't have business here at first dark. We can spend at least part of the evening together. Perhaps we can watch a movie."

"Uh, sure, Eric. We'll have to go separately. I need my car back in Bon Temps."

He shrugged. "I can simply fly back tomorrow. I will not need my car."

Thankfully, Rasul walked back into the office. It took me another forty minutes to get into Brian's head, and I found he knew even less than Chris and Mike. I sighed, stretching my arms above my head. "Well, Rasul, it's been great. Next time, don't glamour them to the brink of their existence and it'll be a darn sight quicker." I couldn't help my snippiness. I was wrecked.

Rasul nodded at me. "I am sorry, and it will not happen again. We may contact you later in the week if we are able to pick up this Greg person, or the organizers you named."

I sighed, but I didn't want a supe bloodbath if I could prevent. "Alright. Same rules. Don't hurt him more than is strictly necessary and he goes to the police once we're done with him. Let's just tack 'minimal glamour' on there as well, okay?" I gave Rasul a small smile to indicate I wasn't too mad at him. I did like Rasul after all. I'd been happy to hear he'd survived the takeover.

He smiled at me, showing me the tips of his fangs. "Ah, but if I hadn't glamoured them I would not have been able to spend so much time in your presence." I nodded at both vamps before getting up to head to the bar. I figured he and Eric needed to chat.

Pam was sitting in a booth with a laptop so I grabbed a coke before sitting down with her. "How's it going, Pam?"

She glanced at me before looking back at the screen. "Eric has me looking up those names you got from the first human. Did you finish with the last one?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he was pretty useless though. He was the hardest to crack the glamour on, of course."

Pam scoffed. "Rasul is so lazy when he casts a glamour. I couldn't believe he was unable to release them. It was excellent that you managed to break through it."

I took a long sip of my coke while I watched her fingers fly over the keys. "So, anybody interesting on that list?"

Her eyes narrowed. "One contractor who has done some work for the vampires in New Orleans." Well, it wasn't Amelia's dad. That name I would have recognized. To be fair, I probably wouldn't have told the vamps straight off if it had been him. He was doing huge contracts all across the state for the vampires. I'd even helped him get in with the new regime. I didn't think he'd get in bed with the Fellowship. He loved money, didn't really care for idealism. "Nothing to do with Copley Carmichael, I hope."

"One of his underlings."

I frowned. "You should let Amelia know. Her dad won't stand for someone messing with his business interests. He'll help you however he can, so long as you keep giving him work."

Pam glanced at me before going back to the computer. "Have you spoken to Amelia since she left then?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we chatted for a bit Friday morning, then I left her a message about what was going down. She said she was going to give you a call that night. I guess she figured you'd have enough on your plate."

"How is she settling in New Orleans?"

I shrugged. "Well, she still needs to go in front of the council for the whole thing with Bob." Pam and Amelia had had a bit of a fling while Bob, in cat form, had been in our lives. "She seems to be coping alright with Trey's death."

Pam's face actually softened slightly. "That is good. I am glad that she isn't too sad." I was floored. Had Pam actually _liked_ the time she spent with Amelia? I mean, I knew they had a good time together, but I'd figured part of it had just been Eric's way of keeping an eye on me. "Do you think she may come visit?"

I shook my head slightly, not disagreeing, just in shock. "Uh, probably not anytime soon. I was thinking about going to see her in a month or so. Maybe we could make a road trip of it?"

Pam smiled at me. "That could be very entertaining. She even has a vampire safe apartment, does she not?"

Amelia was actually living in the apartment that Hadly had used when she was a vampire. She'd lived downstairs when Hadly had been alive(well, undead), but the roof had been damaged in Katrina so her tenant had moved downstairs. The roof was fixed now, but Amelia had gone back on pretty short notice, so her tenant was now living downstairs and she was in the apartment she used to rent out. "I think she does. Talk to her about it if you call her. I don't know how thrilled she'd be to see me. It was hard for her, before she left. Looking at me, limping around, really reminded her of Trey, and how he died. I think we'll be okay eventually, but I haven't discussed the road trip idea with her." It had actually just sprung into my mind when I saw Pam display an actual emotion about a human. I wasn't going to tell her that though. I liked having my head attached to my shoulders. I lowered my voice. "Look, Pam, I need to ask you something, and I'd prefer if you could lay off the sarcasm for a minute or two." She arched an eyebrow at me before nodding. "How big a deal is it that Eric let me sleep with him while he was dead for the day?"

Now both of Pam's eyebrows were up. "Well, it shows a significant amount of trust on Eric's part, but you have always been trustworthy to our kind." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I have let humans sleep with me, occasionally, though I do tend to glamour them first. Obviously he can't do that to you. Waking up is always more fun if there is someone there to enjoy." She gave me a smile, letting me see the tips of her fangs. "You should know that it more significant that he let you into his home at all. He does not like for other people to be in space." I filed that away to think about later.

"Speaking of being in his house, I hear you come by once a week to do his laundry." There was no other work for it. Pam glowered at me. "Oh, excuse me. Do his laundry and clean." I grinned, she scowled.

"He would wear whatever rumpled t-shirt he pulled off the floor if I didn't. It is for the sake of the bar." She started typing again, using more force than strictly necessary. "You simply cannot imagine what it was like to live with him for decades. He refused to hire a maid, even when I glamoured them until they could barely function. Do you understand how complicated some of the day to day outfits were in the nineteenth century? At least I could send the clothing out to be laundered." She shuddered. "Well, when he asked me to come back here, it was with the explicit understanding that we would have separate residences."

I was laughing now, and it wasn't helping Pam's temper, but I just couldn't stop. "Yeah, I had to help him do laundry last night. He's even worse than my brother Jason." Now Pam looked less pissed, edging towards gleeful.

"You helped him do _laundry_. He took you to his home and you spent the evening doing _laundry_." She actually took my hand. "Thank you, Sookie. You do not understand how many years that will come in handy for. You really do not."

I smiled at her. "I do it all for you, Pam. But, seriously, we didn't just do laundry. We made the bed." Pam couldn't have been grinning any wider without minor surgery. She released my hand so she could clap in what could only be glee. "Okay, since I've completely filled whatever teasing needs you have for about a century or so, can you answer another question seriously?" She nodded. I thought she might hug me. That was pretty terrifying. "Why doesn't Eric ever bite me where it would be visible?" It had been bugging me, since my neck had been Bill's favorite place to sink his fangs into.

Pam looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, you must remember his age. He survived for centuries without being caught and killed. Leaving women with very obvious bite marks was not conducive to survival. It is also a matter of etiquette. It is a fairly vulgar statement, fang marks on the neck. It doesn't matter with the fang-bangers, you understand. They wear bite marks like a sign of pride. If a vampire feels the need to mark someone so publically, they either do not respect their partner, or they are very insecure about the relationship." I wondered which Bill had been. Pam's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "A word of advice, if I may?" I nodded. "Do not discuss this with Eric. Bill's habits of biting will come up, and Eric can get, shall we say, rather intense on the subject." I nodded. So I guess we knew which side of the fence Eric was on for the 'no respect' or 'insecure' question as far as Bill and I were concerned. I wondered if he was right.

"Thanks, Pam. I appreciate you being so forthright with me."

She looked pleased. "Of course, my telepathic friend. May I ask you a serious question?" I nodded. "You are happy with my master?" Her voice was low, almost soft.

_I should paint my nails tomorrow. They could really use it._ Of course, why I was staring at my hands was another question. I took a moment to think before I answered her. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy. We have a lot of fun together, when I'm not being an idiot, or getting myself nearly killed. I like where we are right now. I'm enjoying taking our time. Do you think he's happy?"

Pam glanced behind me, and her expression changed. "Finally done with Rasul, then, Eric?"

Eric slid into the booth next to me, giving me a quick kiss on the head. "Yes, he's going to bring the humans back to New Orleans so they can be turned over to the authorities."

I decided to throw my two cents in. "They are going to do that, right? I'm going to be pretty pissed if I see these guys listed on the news as missing."

Eric's arm snaked around my shoulders. I could practically feel him smiling through the bond. "Don't worry, lover. No one wants to be on your bad side." I was tired enough that I didn't care. I mean, I asked. That was the best I could do for those guys. "Have you ladies kept yourselves entertained?"

Pam smiled at me before she responded. "Oh yes. Sookie was telling me all about your interesting evening." Eric looked slightly pained. "It sounded very stimulating. Bed linens and laundry! She should really be too tired to even move today, with all of that excitement."

I laughed at the look Eric gave me. "You had to tell her about that part? You couldn't have told her about the kitchen table? Or the couch? Or about you being pressed up against the fr-"

"Eric! Serious over-share!" I was probably blushing to my toes.

Eric sighed and made a face at me. "You're going to be very bad for my reputation, lover." I just shook my head and buried my face in my hands.

By the time Pam had stopped laughing, I'd thought up a suitably horrific punishment for Eric. "You just talked yourself into the passenger seat, buddy. I'm driving." The look on his face was almost worth the embarrassment.

* * *

**A/N:** These are the shower heads I'm talking about, in case you're interested: www .fornaramaulini. it/ING/ECCO. HTML

Just click the arrows to scroll through the different shapes.

I also hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of trouble with it. It really kicked the shit out of me. I feel like I've stepped slightly out of cannon with Sookie's abilities here, but it seems like a logical progression. You saw her improve between questioning Eric's staff and Stan's humans. It only makes sense that actually using her telepathy would hone her skills. I know vampires have different talents (and differing levels of some abilities) so I decided Rasul isn't great at glamour. I do think, since a glamour is a mental suggestion, that it would be something Sookie could get a person to break through, given enough time and mental suggestion of her own.

Anyway, hope that wasn't totally out of left field. At least this chapter being so difficult meant I took breaks by writing later chapters, so the next one is nearly done. Hope you enjoyed this!

As an aside, does it bug anyone else that Aunt Linda started out as Sookie's mom's sister, before becoming her dad's? It bugs me a lot. It would have made so much more sense if that hadn't happened. I mean, Sookie has Niall find Remy. Wouldn't he have been interested in the child? Okay, ending the longest author's note in history!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hey all. Sorry this has taken me so long to update. Sadly the real world has been kicking my butt. Thanks so much to RubySun03 for helping me knock out the kinks! Hopefully I'll get back to this with a bit more consistency.

Oh, there's some music that is really important for this chapter. The links are in my profile, but I'd really appreciate it if you listened to those songs either before reading or while reading. It's Tracy Chapman, you'll enjoy it. So, no peeking until you listen to those songs. Go do it now!

* * *

Eric threw a bag of clothes on the back seat before sliding back the passenger seat and climbing into my Malibu. He watched me silently as I reached over him and into the glove compartment. I pulled out my cd book and flipped through it quickly, settling on one Amelia had burned for me. I leaned back into my seat, relaxing as the music started playing. I was glad he wasn't arguing with the unspoken 'driver picks the music' rule. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me staring at the road, Eric alternating between staring at me and just looking out the window.

A song I particularly liked came on and I started singing quietly to myself. I didn't really care that Eric was in the car, but I did hope that the stereo mostly drowned me out. "_I am yours, if you are mine._ _When I fall and stumble, flat on my face. When I'm shamed and humbled, in disgrace. I am yours, if you are mine…_" I glanced sideways at Eric. He was staring at me intently, and I stopped singing quickly. "Sorry, my voice is pretty terrible."

He shook his head, as if in disbelief. "Listen to the words, Sookie."

I listened as Tracy Chapman sang to us. "_When time decides, it won't stop for me. When hawks and vultures, are circling. I am yours, if you are mine. I am yours, if you are mine._"

We sat in silence as the song ended, switching to one that I thought was much more appropriate, _Broken_. Eric suddenly started speaking. "You are mine." His eyes flitted over to me, belying the certainty in his voice. "I could be yours, if you wished me to be. I," he hesitated, "I think we could be happy, just being each other's."

I thought for a minute, considering my words carefully. "I'm not seeing anyone else, Eric. If you don't want to see anyone else, that's your choice. I," I felt like my tongue didn't want to move in my mouth. "I know that you need to feed. It just isn't something I want to hear about, alright? And one way or another, I tend to hear about things, especially the goings on of fang-bangers."

We were both silent for a time, listening to _Fast Car_. Eric's hand tapped on his thigh along with the melody. Figures he'd like that song. Finally he spoke. "I don't know how things were with Bill on this issue. I find I do not want to know, since it will probably make me dislike him further, and he really is on the edge of my patience, which is not a good place to be in his condition. I really don't need that much blood. I don't, in fact, need human blood every day. Contrary to what you might think, we can subsist on True Blood, as boring as that might be." I caught a bit of his grin from the corner of my eye.

My knuckles were white from clutching the steering wheel. "Look, Eric, if you're going to do that, please make sure you're doing it for yourself and not for me. We don't see each other all the time. Don't feel like you need to sacrifice for my sake, alright?"

He reached and stroked one of my hands, which were still firmly attached at ten and two. "I can also get donor blood. From a bag, not from a person. I don't know if you noticed, but I had some in the fridge." Oh, I'd noticed. "I'm completely happy with bagged blood, at least when it is supplementing yours."

I shook my head slightly. "Okay. Can we just leave it there? See where we go from here?" I glanced over at Eric, and he nodded. He looked troubled for a moment, but it passed. I felt like I needed to say something. "Bill did feed from other people while we were dating. If he drank from me more than a couple days in a row I'd start getting anemic. He just didn't do it around Bon Temps."

Eric made a fist and released it. "He is young. He requires a great deal of blood each day. You really hadn't dated anyone before him?"

I snorted. "I don't think you'll ever get the telepathy thing. I can always hear people. I wish I could show you what it's like to be me. Shielding helps, but I can't ever completely shut people out. Touching someone makes it so much worse. If I'm touching someone, I hear _everything_. I hated being on a first date, knowing the guy was just undressing me in his head. Plus everyone in my town thinks I'm pretty much nuts, so I never had much of a dating pool to begin with." I shook my head slightly, keeping my focus on traffic. "I got asked out by a few guys who weren't local when I started working at Merlotte's. I went on a date with Sam, when Bill and I weren't together for a bit." I laughed. "It didn't go so well."

Eric was looking at me in an odd way. "You dated the shifter?" He actually sounded incredulous.

"We went on a date, and we've had our moments. The whole me and vampires thing is a real hot button for Sam. Okay, we're officially done talking about anyone I've dated."

We listened to a song called The Promise. Eric looked lost in thought. "This song could be about me," he said, finally. I listened for a minute. _If you dream of me like I dream of you, in a place that's warm and dark, in a place where I can feel the beating of your heart. Remembering, your touch, your kiss, your warm embrace. I'll find my way back to you, if you'll be waiting._

I grinned. "Did you dream about me then?"

He nodded, strangely serious. "It was maddening. I felt for so long that I was just on the cusp of remembering. I would get these flashes during my sleep, moments I just couldn't understand. Hands washing my feet in a basin, reaching out to take a hand in the darkness, running through a cemetery with someone on my back. I couldn't piece anything together. We still haven't talked about it."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I saw his nod out the corner of my eye. Great. What exactly was there to talk about? We'd both lived it, and now we both remembered. Did we really need to hash it out in detail? "So, talk. I won't stop you."

He seemed lost in thought for a few moments. "Your description of what happened while I stayed with you wasn't exactly complete. That is still… irritating to me. I don't understand why you couldn't tell me what happened."

I was starting to get a bit irritated myself. "What should I have said? How exactly would you have had me explain everything to you?"

"You gave me five sentences. The things I felt, the things we felt, what we were to each other, could not be condensed into five sentences. I still feel insulted by that. I deserved more than that. You just pushed me away, like I didn't mean anything to you, like we didn't even have the friendship we had before I stayed with you. You could have tried to tell me, to make me understand."

I snorted. "Right, Eric, because it's so easy to make you do anything. The 'you' that stayed with me was gone. Whatever feelings were there became irrelevant as soon as those memories disappeared. You reacted so negatively once I gave you those five sentences; I didn't want to see what you'd do if I tried to explain further. I mean, you sat there talking to yourself and wondering if you should seduce me or kill me. It wasn't really a great way to encourage honest communication." I wasn't trying to be snippy, even if I knew it was coming out that way. I really hadn't enjoyed him threatening me.

Eric was silent for several seconds. "That was not my finest moment. It was a frustrating time for me. You also need to think about the way I experienced things. I was in my office, then I woke up in your house and you wouldn't tell me anything about what had happened. You were so cold, so distant. I didn't know how I'd wound up there, and you wouldn't tell me anything, you just told me to wait for Pam. I could tell you were upset, that I'd had more of your blood, and I was pretty sure you'd had some more of mine. I could feel how upset you were. You wouldn't say anything to me."

I shook my head, trying to focus on my driving and ignore the fact that we were having a very emotionally charged conversation and it was after midnight. My mind was tired. Maybe I should have just let Eric drive. "I was having a pretty hard time of it myself, Eric." I would not cry. Not over this. I was so far past done crying over this. "My brother was still missing, I'd killed a woman- _killed a woman_- the night before. I just, I needed you, the you that had been with me for days, the you that cared enough to want to stay with me, the you that liked me just as I was and didn't constantly push, push, push. I needed that person _desperately_ and he was just gone. Poof! Eric _fucking_ Northman was back, full of innuendo and trying to seduce me. Shit!" I had to pull over. I really didn't want to do this, but tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't drive. I could barely see. As soon as I got the car over onto the shoulder, I was out as fast as humanly possible. Of course, Eric was faster since he had the whole not being human thing on his side. I pushed against him, trying to break out of his arms, but he held onto me.

"Sookie, I know you like to run. It's not going to work with me. Just talk to me." His voice was firm, and all I wanted to do was kick him and run for the woods. Why was he so much faster than me?

I was crying hard enough that I had to get in a gasping, choking breath before I could speak. "What do you want me to say, Eric? I had a lot on my plate, and I was supposed to sit there and talk you through several days of living together, living with a version of you that had been stripped of all the bullshit, a version that had told me he wanted to stay with me, a version that didn't want me to be so alone anymore. You would have laughed in my face and still tried to talk your way into my pants. Tell me I'm wrong."

He pulled me down until we were both sitting on the asphalt, illuminated by my car's headlights. His thumb traced over my cheeks, wiping away my tears, before darting into his mouth. _Fucking vampires._ I took another shuddering breath, trying to get my tears under control. "I am sorry I lost those memories when you needed me. I do understand now that it was difficult for you, but at the time I didn't know any of this. It had only been a few weeks since everything in Jackson. I finally felt like we were starting to _see_ each other, then suddenly, I wake up in your house and your walls are back up, a thousand feet high. The only thing I could think to do was make a joke."

I sighed, finally feeling like I could breathe normally. I even managed to crack a small smile. Eric grinned back at me. "You know, you seem to have some pleasant memories of Jackson. I had a pretty bad time of it there, if you recall." He brushed a strand of hair that had come out of my braid away from my face. "My boyfriend ran off with his maker, who wound up just wanting to torture him. Because I'm too loyal for my own good, I went after him, rather than just giving you the program he'd left with me. I busted my ass trying to find him, wound up getting staked, managed to get him free, staked his maker, and when I finally thought we were safe, freaking Debbie Pelt pushed me into the trunk. Which, by the way, had had the emergency release lever disabled by whatever drug dealer you borrowed it from. So I was stuck in a very small space when a very starved Bill woke up. First he nearly drained me, then he raped me. Of course, that wasn't quite enough. He sat there sipping a True Blood as I ran out of oxygen. I remember what you said before I passed out by the way. 'What are you two doing in here?' You must be a real hit at parties."

Eric was frowning. He didn't even laugh at my witty comment. "He raped you?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, you didn't notice? I thought you could smell things like that."

"Your blood was every where. It was hard to focus on anything else, and then I was rather preoccupied with keeping you from dying. I still can't believe that you woke up, laughed at us and then informed us that Bubba was going to be crucified." He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to proceed.

"Seriously, Eric, if you say something like, 'Are you alright?' I will smack you. It happened over a year ago, and he hadn't eaten in days. He didn't know what he was doing, and I know that. I'm not particularly happy about it, and it was the last time we had sex. So, just drop it."

He looked like he was going to say something, but then he just nodded. After a moment, he gave me a look. "One second. You had Bill's program the whole time?" I smiled in a way that was only slightly self satisfied. "Why didn't you just give it to us, if you knew he was planning on leaving you?"

I sighed. "Seriously, Eric, you need to get to know me a bit better."

Eric just shook his head. "I don't think I could ever make predictions about you, Sookie. You're right, though. You are too loyal for your own good. Aren't you cold? Let's get back in the car." I nodded, and didn't even put up a fuss when he immediately walked around to the driver's side. I leaned my head against the window as he pulled back onto the interstate. He was driving considerably faster than I had been. I looked over to frown at him. "Calm down. Do you always drive that slowly, or were you doing it deliberately to annoy me? At least this car is in better shape than your previous one. The alignment, however, is slightly off."

I actually snorted. Eric raised an eyebrow at me. "The alignment was fine until I had to run over a vampire to save your ass. Literally." Eric did laugh at that slight witticism. Siegbert had been in the process of dropping trou when I'd run my car over him. Then backed it over him.

Eric was still chuckling. "I never did ask, lover. What were you going to do with that bat?"

"I was out of options, Eric. Somehow, and I know it's just poor planning on my part, but somehow, I've never actually felt the need to keep a mess of stakes in my car. I do keep a bat." I smiled slightly. "You really hated my previous car. You must have been so pleased it got set on fire. Even cursed you thought it was a piece of crap."

"I'd lost my memory, not my eye sight. I can't believe I managed to drive the thing, even as far as Bill's. This is bearable. Just." I rolled my eyes at him, even if I could see his grin. The Malibu was the newest car I'd ever owned, and was in much better shape than my Nova had been. "I still want to talk."

Shit. "You go right ahead, Eric. I'm all ears." I wished I wasn't.

"When I came back to speak to you, the next evening, you were actually rude. You'd never been rude to me, not even when you were rescinding my invitation to your home. You were cold and you were rude, so I knew something had happened between us. You even seemed annoyed that I hadn't sent you flowers."

I huffed. "You were pretty quick to throw that check in my face. Why did you give me fifty grand, anyway? Pam and Jason worked out thirty-five."

He seemed almost angry. "Because you would have done it for free."

I was silent for a moment. Of course he was right, even if I could pretend otherwise. "You didn't know that."

"As much as you might like to deny it, I know you. I also knew you needed money, but were too proud to ever ask for it."

I balled my hands into fists. "I get by alright. I do like having some money in savings and having health insurance. I don't know what I would have done about the fire damage otherwise."

Eric was a mess of emotions. "Did it at least last some time?"

I laughed. He really had no concept of how large a sum of money that was to me. "Eric, in a typical year, I make about $23,000. Jason and I have a bit from our parents, but we hold it aside for emergencies." He looked slightly stunned. I continued on. "So, even after paying taxes on that money, and paying for what the insurance didn't cover for my remodel and a few other unexpected expenses, I've still got about ten grand of what you paid me left, plus the money from Rhodes now. It's the only reason I'm able to take some time off. If Hunter wasn't with me, I'd probably be back at work already. I'm fine for the moment, but I really don't like eating into my savings. There is a reason I never fixed my driveway, or bought a new car. There's a reason I get completely bent out of shape if I have to miss work. I need every shift."

He was silent as he took the exit towards Bon Temps. "Why do you do so much for other people, then, for no recompense? The Shreveport pack is always dragging you into their insanity, and I know you've never seen a dime from them."

I shrugged. "I was raised to help when someone asks. Alcide happens to be pretty good at asking."

Eric shook his head. "I heard about you coming home bloody and disheveled from their dispute in October, you know. Do we need to pick up any True Blood?" We would pass the Grabbit Kwik in a minute or two. I shook my head no. "Well, I was very upset to hear about that from Pam. I'd told you I would protect you, yet you didn't even think to ask me to."

"Eric, I didn't think I was going to a war. I was supposed to just tell if Alcide and Patrick Furnan were lying to each other. Plus, Sam had already insisted on coming with me. Claudine even showed up to keep me safe." I sighed when I thought of Claudine, but pushed through it. "Anyway, I was pretty well protected." I could see Eric's jaw tighten, but he didn't say anything.

Much quicker than we would have been had I been driving, we were heading through Bon Temps and out towards Hummingbird Lane. Finally he spoke. "I just wish that you would ask me for help when you need it." We were both silent as Eric pulled down my nice, smooth drive, pulling the car round back. I unlocked the back door and Eric followed me in.

"So," I made my voice lighter than I felt. "Can I get you anything?"

"You can make yourself something to eat." I sighed, but the set of his face told me he wasn't going to be backing down anytime soon. He followed me into the kitchen and watched as I stared at the contents of the fridge, willing something to strike my interest. The Weres had left one small slice of the apple pie on a plate, and since I really couldn't be bothered with anything requiring effort, I just grabbed that and a fork and sat down. I ate mechanically, with Eric watching every bite.

Half way through the slice, it started to seriously irritate me. "Eric, don't sit there and watch me eat. It is unnerving and I don't like it."

He rolled his eyes at me, but looked around the kitchen. His eyes settled on a framed photo of me and my Gran, taken when I was in high school. "You spoke of your grandmother frequently while I was cursed. You must have cared for her deeply."

My Gran's death was one of those things that had torn a hole in my heart that had never completely healed. It still felt ragged and painful around the edges. She'd loved every bit of me and had challenged anyone who had ever dared say anything about me where she could hear it. I smiled, sadly. "Yeah. I still miss her a lot. Some days I feel like I'd give anything for her not to have been killed, for me to have been here instead. I hate that she died because of me."

Eric knew all about my Gran's death, from the talks we'd had while he'd been under Hallow's spell. "I am sure that she gladly gave her life for you."

I laughed. "I don't think anyone gives up their life gladly, Eric. Without regret, perhaps, but not gladly. I would have loved for her to meet you. That would have been a sight to behold."

Eric arched an eyebrow. "She did not like vampires? I thought you said she approved of Compton."

I pulled the end of my braid over my shoulder, studying the way the strands of hair were woven together. "She was pretty desperate for me to have a boyfriend. I wonder what she would have thought of you. She's the only person I know who's more stubborn than me, with the possible exception of you."

Eric smiled. "I don't think there is anyone more stubborn than you are, lover."

"My Gran was an amazing woman. She was proud, and confident, and wasn't afraid to put anyone in their place. She was a good person, giving and hospitable. I sometimes wonder what she would think of the turns my life has taken. I still wish I'd gotten to ask her about Fintan. I wonder what her reasoning was, and why she never told us." Eric let me sit in silence while I finished my pie. Finally I pulled myself out of my own thoughts. I noticed that the light on the answering machine was flashing, so I stood up, stretched and hit play. I winced when the first message started going.

"Sookie, it's me, Quinn. Listen babe, I really want to talk to you. If you're screening your calls, please pick up. I want to see if you're alright. I figure the least you owe me is the courtesy of a conversation. Babe? Please call me back. I would come see you, but the damn blood-suckers are keeping me out of the area for the moment. Just, call me. I need to hear from you that you're okay." I jotted down the number he left before deleting the message, trying not to see Eric glaring at me.

The other message was Andy asking me to get in touch when I could. I could barely hear it. Eric was _pissed_. Once that message had played, I turned to Eric. "So, do you want to watch a movie?"

He moved so quickly I couldn't see what happened, but the next thing I knew I was backed into a corner. Eric wasn't touching me, and I could practically feel him holding himself back. "Why exactly are you going to call the tiger back?"

I sighed. Vampire jealousy was something I could seriously deal without. That had been one of the most enjoyable things about seeing Quinn. If he'd ever felt jealous of whatever Eric and I had had, he never showed it. I loved the amount of trust he had in me. "I'm going to call him back because he asked me to. It's common courtesy."

"I do not wish for you to speak to him." Eric's accent was getting more pronounced. That was never good.

"Last I checked, I wasn't wearing a leash. You don't own me." I knew pushing him wasn't a good idea, but I was tired and I was sick of being treated like property. I tried to push his anger out of my mind, since I had enough of my own. I took a deep breath. "Let's calm down, okay? What's your big issue with Quinn, anyway?"

Eric spun away from me and flung himself into a chair. I sat down across from him, giving him space and a bit of time to get himself under control. Finally he started talking. "I do not like that you have been with him." That actually made me laugh. I bit my tongue. "You started seeing him after we had been together. It offends me."

It took all my self control not to roll my eyes at him. He really did take high handed to all new levels. "Eric, you need to calm down about him. I dated him for a few months. Notice how I don't obsess over everyone who you've, and I'm going to use a euphemism here, 'dated'." I even threw in air quotes for emphasis. "You need to calm down. Why does he bother you so much?"

He stared at me for a few moments before he responded. "You threw him in my face. We had never settled things. You knew I would be angry and you started seeing him anyway."

I rolled my eyes. I had known Eric was going to be pissed to hear about my dating someone. I'd even told Pam I had a date, and I knew that would get back to Eric. Even if I had been vindictive, I didn't care. He hadn't even tried to see me since his loaner bartender nearly killed me because of him. "So what, Eric?" The look on his face was priceless. "Of course I knew you were going to be angry. You didn't have any right to be angry, so I didn't see any reason not to go out with a guy who took the trouble of asking me out. You being angry didn't much factor into it."

Eric was visibly struggling to hang onto his composure. "You didn't give me enough time. I was still trying to understand what you had told me about my time staying with you, trying to comprehend why I felt the way I did about you. You just brushed me aside like I was nothing."

I blinked as he lapsed into silence. "You'd had about three and a half months. Most of which you spent not talking to me."

He flinched slightly, but I saw it. "I have been on this earth for over a thousand years. I couldn't remember anything, and I can remember _every moment_ since I've been turned, if I think back on it. You did not give me enough time to adjust."

I snorted. "Look, I hate to be blunt, but I don't have the same kind of time that you do. I'm turning twenty-eight in July. Forgive me if we've got different perspectives on time. Quinn asked me out. He's hard to read for a shifter, so I figured we had a shot. I don't get asked out all that often, or the chance for my telepathy not to ruin everything, so yeah, I said yes. If you're pissed off, be mad at me. Keep Quinn out of it."

Eric's eyes flashed as he looked at me. "Fine. I am angry with you for Quinn. I do not like anything that reminds me of the time that you were with him."

I walked around the table and wrapped my arms around his neck. My forehead rested against his. "I'm still going to call him. I wasn't kind when I broke things off with him. Will you feel any better if you know we only slept together once?" Well, it had been twice, but only one day's worth of sex only counted as once. "It was before Rhodes."

Eric was silent for a few minutes. Finally I felt him nod slightly and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "It makes me feel slightly better. I was convinced you went to bed with him after the soda can incident. It irked me."

I laughed, shaking my head slightly. "Well, consider yourself un-irked. I never did say thank you for staying with me, even if it was a stupid thing to do. So, thanks."

His cool lips brushed my cheek before he pulled away to look into my eyes. "It was no more stupid than you coming back into an exploding building to revive Pam and me. Or even picking up a confused, lost vampire on a dark road in the middle of the night. You know, it isn't just about me and you. I dislike the way Quinn treated you." I frowned and he elaborated. "The way he spoke to you, it was disrespectful."

I rolled my eyes. "You know, you're not always completely respectful when you speak to me."

"I am for the most part, certainly when we aren't alone. At least I'm not calling you 'babe' until I am blue in the face."

"Can you be blue in the face? You don't breathe. Anyway, isn't 'lover' the equivalent?"

"It isn't. 'Babe' is so cheap, so… California, 1973. I used it myself on so many women whose names I couldn't be bothered to remember. Women who were barely worth glamouring. To hear you spoken to in such a way disgusts me."

"Seriously, Eric, just because you have bad associations with the word 'babe' doesn't make it into a curse, four letters or not."

He shook his head in frustration. "You do not understand. It isn't the word itself, it is the tone in which it is said. As if the words are not worth lingering over, enjoying. Even now, when he is begging you to speak to him, he just throws it at you, like trash he expects you to deal with. He betrayed you, and he expects anything from you? He is no kind of man."

I just shook my head. "Look, Eric, I get it; mostly, anyway. I've got my own issues with Quinn, and I'm going to discuss them with him. I don't see us being best buds, but I don't hate him. I'm going to call him. I'm not going back to him, so chill out."

"Will you at least tell me what he wants?"

My fingers ran through his hair and drew his chin up so I could look into his eyes. "If it's important, I will. If it's just me and Quinn hashing things out, you're not getting any details, okay?" He nodded. "So, what about that movie?"

We got about halfway through Amelia's copy of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (what can I say? Listening to the music with Hunter made me want to watch the film), before Eric convinced me of a better way to spend our child-free evening. Several ways.

A couple of hours later, with dawn still pretty far away, we lay in my bed. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, stroking Eric's chest, enjoying the look of him in the soft light of a few candles scattered around my room. I sighed and closed my eyes, relaxing into the comfort of the bond and the cool chest of my vampire. "Sookie," Eric's voice was soft, soothing. "Can you hear me?"

I nodded slowly. "Mmmhmmm. I'm not quite asleep yet."

"That's interesting." The tone of his voice was different, but subtly so. "Because I didn't say anything."


	12. Chapter 12

That one sentence had the same effect as an entire bucket of ice water being dumped over my head. I jumped out of bed, trying to put as much space between Eric and me as possible. He didn't move, just looked at me with a slight smile tugging up one corner of his mouth. I was having trouble breathing. _This would be a great moment to pass out. Please let me faint._

Eric just shook his head slightly, stretching out and folding his hands behind his head. "You need to calm down, Sookie. Let's just talk about this, yes?"

I backed into the chair and my knees buckled. If what I was feeling through the bond was any indication, he probably wasn't going to kill me, at least not immediately. "What do you want to talk about?"

One of his eyebrows arched up. "Don't play the bimbo, lover. It doesn't suit you. You heard my thoughts."

I shook my head. "It only happens once in a while. It's not all the time."

He just nodded. "Yes, so I assumed. You heard me earlier tonight, I was thinking about how tired you looked. Since then I've been trying to get you to hear me and it was only now that you did."

If the way my face felt was any indication, I was about as white as Eric. "You didn't say that out loud?" He just shook his head slightly. "I really don't hear you guys that often. Sometimes it's a flash every few months, sometimes a couple in the course of a day or two. It's not predictable."

"Who have you heard?"

I considered lying, but didn't see the point. He would either kill me or not. Telling him half the story wouldn't make it any better. "Well, you. I heard you first, back when Longshadow was embezzling. I caught a glimpse of Stan's mind when I first met him. In Rhodes, at the trial, I was reading Henrick, not his lawyer, and I got a flash of Gervaise later on. I've gotten a few other flashes, here and there. Sometimes it's just a feeling, like I can better understand your motives, sometimes I catch an actual thought. It's happened ten times at the most." I didn't feel the need to tell him how cold and snake-like their minds were. That seemed to fall under the heading of 'too much information'.

Eric just nodded slightly. "I suspected that might have been the case at the trial. I could feel how frightened you were, even though you remained outwardly calm. You are very frightened now. Be calm."

He wanted me to be calm? "Look, Eric, no offense, but I'm still trying to figure out if you're going to kill me or not. Calm doesn't really fall into that spectrum."

Eric stretched his arms above his head, closing his eyes slightly. "I'm not going to kill you. Come back to bed."

It took me a few minutes to consider him, lying contentedly under my quilt. He took his time watching me, no doubt seeing the tension gripping my still naked body. Calm poured from him, evident both in what I could feel through the bond and his relaxed stance. I sighed and sat down next to him gingerly, ready to spring up in an instant. I stared at him, looking for a sign of movement.

Finally he just started speaking. "Does anyone else know about this occasional talent?" I shook my head vehemently. I wished he didn't know. "Good. Let's keep it that way. This is something not even Pam can know about. To be completely truthful, I am glad I didn't realize you could do this, even occasionally, before I regained my memories. I would not have been nearly so calm." He laughed, reaching out to me with lightning speed, catching me in his arms and pulling me down next to him. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I struggled to breathe. One arm was draped around me, seemingly casual, but holding me tightly, and the other started stroking my side. "You, my lover, need to take a page from my book, as I believe the expression goes. You're like a little rabbit, with your heart pounding so quickly. Be careful. Rabbits have been known to expire from fear." Somehow, he implying I was going to die didn't calm me. I wonder why? I flinched as his lips brushed over my neck. He kissed me for a few minutes before sighing at my rigidity. "Shall we talk about this lover?"

My voice shook as I started speaking. "Please, don't kill me. I swear it doesn't happen very often." My whole body was vibrating with fear.

I could feel his lips moving against my skin as he spoke. "I already said I wouldn't kill you. Just relax." With all the waves of calm I was getting from the bond it was pretty hard not to relax, but I was all kinds of wound up. His hand that had been stoking me gently ran down my arm to grasp my fingers, managing to pry them off the death grip I had on my quilt before lacing them into his. He sighed. "If I wanted you dead, it would have happened already. Talk to me."

I sighed. At least he was being honest. Finally, I felt my body relax, slightly. He let me shift slightly so that I could look at him. "I don't know what to say. I didn't even realize, earlier, that you hadn't spoken."

His fingers traced along mine. "Does it bother you that you can hear me?"

Was he seriously concerned about my feelings about hearing him? Those were the least of my worries. "I'm bothered that some vamp might kill me if they ever find out. That really is my most pressing concern. It doesn't happen often enough to be useful or overly irritating. I get more from the blood bond than I've ever gotten from your mind." I sighed, feeling drained. "I thought you'd figured it out, that I get flashes, the night of the takeover. You made a very oblique remark."

Eric thought for a few minutes. "On the phone?" I nodded. He'd told me to watch out, or he'd think I could read his mind. It had chilled me. "No, I was just making a joke. As I mentioned, I was slightly suspicious in Rhodes but that was the only indication that you might be getting anything out of vampires. I was also most likely the only one who noticed, and only because of the blood bond. You're very good at keeping your emotions locked down."

Could that have been a compliment or an insult? I didn't care. "Well, I've had a lot of practice."

"Has the boy shown any signs of this ability?"

"Jesus Christ, no!" I took a deep breath. "I don't know if it's related, but I didn't even get a hint of your minds until after I'd had vampire blood."

Eric gave me a look I couldn't interpret, even with the help of the blood bond. "You'd had Bill's blood before the incident with Longshadow?" I nodded. "What were the circumstances?"

He seemed genuinely curious, so I didn't really see the harm in answering. "Do you know how Bill and I met?" He shook his head. "Well, he came into Merlotte's one night, and I could tell what he was, since you guys all glow a bit."

Eric interrupted. "You can see that?"

"Unhun. Well, anyway, he wound up leaving with this couple. I read from them that they were planning on draining him. I tried to get him to stay, but you know Bill. So I went out to the parking lot to find them, and Bill was being drained. I managed to chase off the man and women and got Bill sorted out."

The grin Eric was giving me was pretty priceless. "_You_ rescued _Bill_ from drainers?" He let out a huge, full laugh. I couldn't help but grin along with him. "No wonder he never let that story get out."

I just shook my head in amusement. "Anyway, a few days later, I got jumped by Mack and Denise Rattray, those drainers. I'd asked Bill to meet me after work, since my Gran had asked me to see if he'd speak to her club about the war. He was late and those two got the drop on me. I mean, they beat me within an inch of my life. Bill killed them, and he gave me his blood, since I was so bad off. I would have died if he hadn't." Eric's face was a little too blank. "He also got me to take his blood before I came to read your employees, so I'd be at my sharpest."

Eric shook his head slightly. "Well, it makes what Andre tried to do in Rhodes slightly clearer. Bill had probably been ordered to form a blood bond with you. It isn't an exact science, you know. Some people form a bond after taking a vampire's blood once, some take a dozen exchanges. It is likely he knew the drainers were laying in wait for you."

I gave that little revelation a few minutes to sink in. I didn't like it a bit. I guess it was just another thing I was going to have to talk to Bill about if I ever got to see him. "So, in Rhodes, you didn't know that we'd form a bond?"

The words came out of Eric's mouth as if they were being pulled. "I didn't. I was not, however, displeased by the outcome of the exchange."

Typical Eric. At least he was honest about it. "So, now you know my secret. What does all of this mean?"

"Well, it doesn't have to mean anything. Of course, if you pick up anything of interest, I'd like it if you told me. We could try to see if there's a pattern. Sookie, I wish you were better able to trust me."

It took a few minutes to contemplate that. Did I trust Eric? He'd never actually given me any reason to doubt him. Maybe I was just used to being betrayed. Finally I spoke. "I trust you. I do. This is just frightening. I don't want to hear anything from you guys. I _like_ that I can't hear you. It makes it possible to have an almost normal relationship, which is huge for me. I like feeling almost normal." I sighed, slumping down into bed. "What do you want to know?"

Eric considered my question for a few minutes. "Well, you heard me after having Bill's blood. Have you ever heard Bill?" I shook my head. "Any thoughts on why not?"

This was something I'd thought about, at length. I didn't think Eric would be such a fan of my conclusions. "Well, you know how I hear people at different volumes depending on how much they broadcast?" He nodded. "Well, I think that might have something to do with why I've heard you and not Bill." I thought for a minute. "The whole 'readability' thing has always been a bit of a puzzle. I think part of it has something to do with how much of your true self you keep hidden away. Amelia has always been shockingly easy to read, but she is exactly who she says she is. She doesn't hide who she is. Now this doesn't always hold true, but people who have something to hide tend to be a bit harder to read. It's like they keep their true self buried underneath. I've felt that way about Sam for a long time. Even for a shifter, he's shockingly hard to read. I think that's because he tries to keep so much hidden. Anyway, Bills the same. He keeps himself buried so far under the persona he projects that nobody ever gets to see the real Bill; not me, not anybody. You're more like Amelia. You just are, no barriers, no bullshit."

Eric was silent, thinking for a few moments. "I don't know if I should be pleased or offended, but what you say does have a sick kind of logic. Perhaps it also has something to do with self knowledge. I know exactly what I am and accept myself completely. Bill loathes, and loves what he is. It is a disturbing dichotomy."

I just shrugged. "Well, it's not like I came with an instruction manual. I'm making this up as I go along."

He laughed, making me smile. "Perhaps one day we can write one. It would be amusing if nothing else. So, what would you like to do about this development?"

"What do you mean do? I just want to forget about it and pretend it never happened."

Eric shook his head slightly. "I think it is something we should explore. You never know when something like this could come in handy. If we could fine tune this skill, so that you could hear me when I focused on sending a thought to you…"

I cut him off abruptly. "No way, Eric. Not a chance. I just want to forget this ever happened. I'll let you know if it happens again, but that is as far as it's going. There is no way it'll happen on command, trust me. It's not at all like my normal abilities, so just stop that line of thinking right now."

Eric sighed. "Sometimes, dear one, I wish you would be just slightly more pragmatic. Fine, we'll drop it, for now, but only because it is upsetting you. I reserve the right to bring this up again when you are calmer."

I just shrugged. "Fine, whatever, just not tonight." I was exhausted. It was almost three in the morning and I was going to have to be up before eight, since Jason was going to be dropping off Hunter. I sighed. "What time do you need to be back in Shreveport tomorrow?"

His fingers went to the elastic securing my braid, undoing it, then gently teasing my hair out of the pattern he'd woven it into. "I have a meeting at 11. Are you still happy to have me rest here?"

Sometimes he could be exasperating. "It's fine. I'll keep Hunter occupied while you're waking up. Speaking of Hunter, I really need to get to sleep if I'm going to be dealing with him tomorrow."

I didn't particularly like the look Eric gave me, but he finally just pulled me close to him and allowed me to get settled. I sighed and cuddled into his chest. He pulled me even closer. "I really do love to snuggle with you, lover. Perhaps you will spend the day with me again soon."

I nodded against him. I should have been surprised that I could be so comfortable again so quickly after being convinced he was going to kill me, but I wasn't. Eric had always had the effect on me, even before the bond. With the bond, he could be better than any anxiety medicine. "I've got a few days between Hunter leaving and going back to work. Maybe I could come visit for part of that. Hey what time is sunrise?"

"About ten past seven. Sunset is about ten to six."

I sighed, trying not to think how soon that was. "Can you wake me up before you go down for the day? Jason'll be showing up around then and I should get him fed for his trouble."

"Of course, dear one. Sweet dreams." His fingers traced their way up and down my spine, gradually lulling me into sleep.


End file.
